The Legend of Zelda: Everything or Nothing
by Cimar of Turalis
Summary: Link is sent back in time after OoT, yet, to a world that is much differnt than his own. Will he be able to conquer the new challenges he is faced with? He'll have to give it everything he's got, or end up with nothing at all. Link x Malon. w/OC's.
1. Prologue: Time Ruptured

**For everyone who has read this story before, I am currently rewriting it. I have needed to edit this for a while, and not that I have some time on my hands, I will be putting some effort into re-editing this story so that it is twice as good as before. So, if you haven't read it, you won't miss anything, and if you have, you might want to read it again so you don't miss any of the new scenes. And with that announcement, please enjoy the story. And now, I hope you enjoy, The Legend of Zelda Everything or Nothing.**

* * *

Sadness, joy. Despair, exuberance. Love, hate. Every feeling one could have, or experience, I've felt it. I felt it all when she told me those few, simple words. Told me that I needed to go back to my time, that I didn't belong here…. Sadness at leaving so many that I loved and held dear, especially her…

Joy, at being able to have a normal childhood. No more being a hero, no more saving the world. I would simply be Link…I would be free again.

Anger, at having to leave so soon, and being told to do so by the one who was closest to me. It took all of my energy and self control not to just take that tiny, fragile instrument in her hand and smash it to bits to keep from leaving her side, yet I stayed my hand.

It was destiny, I couldn't help it. This was never meant to be. I was never supposed to stay here and be deprived of a normal life, of a…childhood. Now…that would all change.

The sweet melody and notes cascaded, flowed into my ears as she played that song, the song she taught me so long ago. The notes calmed my mind as they floated into every fiber of my being, filling my body with a beautiful warmth that filled my soul with cascading joy. They floated in the air above me as I felt the first signal that I was about to leave this world. A tingling sensation started to flow through my body, slowly at first, then more rapidly until my whole being was consumed by its magical glow. She lowered the ocarina from her lips, staring silently at me as a single tear fell from her beautiful azure eyes and down her pale cheeks. Brighter and brighter the light glowed and swirled around me as she and this world started to fade away from view. I can still remember the last thing I heard her say, "Goodbye…my hero…" her hand floated towards mine, like a silent boat adrift at sea. As I reached for her one last time, the light entirely consumed me…and I was gone. I hoped this was the right decision, although I would never know now.

The lights that swirled around me moments before faded away as quickly as the dew before the morning sun. As they shimmered into nothingness, I felt the hard floor of marble beneath my feet as my boots landed onto the floor of the temple of time. The stark grey walls echoed the feelings of my heart, yet I knew what I needed to do as I walked obliviously towards the pedestal in the other room. As I walked forward, I saw the object that would forever bind me away from this place, the light of the single window shining down upon it, casting an pale glow around it. By just putting the sword away and forgetting it, I would be free again. Yet, I would also be a captive again. Captive to the feelings of my soul that tugged at my heartstrings. It was a bittersweet feeling.

My boots echoed through the ancient cathedral as I walked the final steps needed to remake my destiny. Ganondorf was defeated and gone, sealed away so the world would no longer fear him…nor need me. My task was complete, my job was finished. I had to laugh at myself. With everything that I had done, the only person who even knew I had done it was Zelda and the sages, and know they would no longer remember the deeds of the future in my new life in the past. I shook my head and laughed as I walked forward, not paying attention to where I was going as my feelings swelled and roared inside my mind. My foot hit something hard, causing me to lose my balance. I felt myself falling to the floor and before I could even think, nature took control and my body twisted towards the side as I rolled off the impact of the floor. Laying on the ground, I couldn't help but laugh as I acknowledged the steps to the pedestal in front of me. After slaying hundreds of monsters, defeating Ganondorf and slaying Ganon, a single, small step had easily bested me.

Pushing myself of the ground, I carefully lifted my foot over that dangerous first step, then quickly made my way to the top as I drew my beloved blade from its holy sheath. The blade glimmered in the soft light of the window, sending light cascading in every direction. Such as simple object, yet it held so much power over my life.

"I will finally be able to have a normal life now."

Positioning the blade over the pedestal, I closed my eyes, breathing deeply as I steadied myself for the travel to come.

"This will be a new adventure for us, huh Navi," I laughed as the fairy above my head danced in agreement

Twirling the blade one last time, I lowered it swiftly into the dais and held my breath as the sword made a metallic grating sound against the pedestal.

"Let my new life begin…"

I felt as the familiar magic of teleportation began washing over my body, filling me with its familiar warmth. Yet this time…something felt different. I opened my eyes as a cold tingling started slowly wrapping its way up my legs, holding them in place.

"Link, what's wrong?" Navi asked as she noticed my sudden panic.

I opened my mouth to answer as a large jolt of pain sear up my legs and into my chest. I tried to let go of the blade in front of me, but it felt like my hands were attached to the sword and no amount of force could pry them off. Another blast of pain engulfed my body and I couldn't help but scream in pain. Even with the triforce of courage brilliantly colored into the back of my hand, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear.

"LINK?! WHAT'S WRONG?!"

All I could do was scream. It was the easiest thing to do. Pain filled my entire being as the room faded away out of my sight, either from blacking out or from the time travel starting to occur. I was going back, but at what price? The pain continued to increase yet I couldn't let go as the lights around me swirled violently around my body. The room re-appeared, then went blurry as I felt my legs finally give out from under me. The lights finally faded and the pain started to ebb as the last thing I remember was finally letting go of the sword and falling to the ground, hitting my head against the smooth marbled floor.

"It…isn't supposed…to be like this…."

The room faded from my view as I heard voices approaching my pain racked body.

I was going to die.

I accepted it as fact as I slowly lost feeling throughout my body. I felt as my body was lifted off the ground, surrounded by a warm feeling, as if I was suddenly floating through the air. It didn't matter though, as I felt the swift embrace of death coming towards me like an onrushing moblin. I silently prayed that it would take me, relieving me of the horrible pain and memories of the life I had just left behind.

Life was not that kind, in fact, it is quite cruel.

Thus my new story begins and the magic of my life starts anew…

**

* * *

**

Cimar: A great way to start a story, eh?

**Old Muppets from "The Muppet Show": Great? That was short! We expected to fall asleep while reading it! Dohohohohohoho!**

**Cimar: Uhh...how did you guys get here?**

**Muppets: We got here the same way your story did, through the trash chute! Dohohohohoho!**

**Cimar: ...(Scowls)...well, review what you liked and let's see if I can get rid of these two old guys by next chapter...**


	2. Chapter 1: Returning to Friends

**Cimar: Ok, time for chapter 1 in this new story. Forgive me for any errors it might contain since I wrote some of this while I had food poisoning... ****Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

**Muppets: I know we won't! Dohohohohohoo!**

**Cimar: Ohh, and by the way, thanks for all the reviews so far. They have really helped so keep it up and tell your friends. Especially if they can get rid of these two...**

**Muppets: We would like to be rid of you too! Dohohohohoho!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Returning to Friends**

"How is he doing?"

"It's a miracle he is alive being that long without a pulse…"

"For a child, he must be something special. I don't think that any normal child could survive something like that.

Link opened his eyes and squinted in the bright light. He tried looking around as his eyes slowly adjusted to the brightness. It seemed like he was on a bed with curtains hanging around it. The smell of medicine filled the air and Link groaned inwardly…

_A doctor's office…great. How did I end up here?_

The curtain that surrounded his bed was semi-transparent so he was able to see straight through it and saw three shadows. One he could tell was a man and apparently a very large one at that. The second one was shorter and seemed to be bent over while the last shadow was smaller than the other two.

_Must be a child…_Link thought.

"Will he be ok?" asked the smallest shadow who by the sound of it was a young girl. "I know Grasshopper can survive anything, hehe."

_Grasshopper? Where have I heard that name before…_Link knew he had heard that name before yet could not place the voice.

"He should be ok now, young lady," replied the bent over man who Link guessed was the doctor. "Just don't bug him too much; he needs some rest and so do I."

Link removed the sheets and started forward to remove the curtains around his bed when a small redhead poked her face between the curtains.

"Yay! You're awake finally. It's about time you were asleep a long time. Almost a full day!" Link finally recognized the person in front of him.

"Malon?"

"Yay! You remember hehe!"

_Remember, how could I not. I have known you for ages, well…used to._

"So…how long was I asleep?" Link asked as a large hand grabbed the remaining curtains and pulled them back.

"About 20 hours or so I reckon." The big form of Talon appeared as the curtains were pulled back and the large man smiled down at the young boy sitting on the bed. "The doctor says you were lucky to be alive since when we found ya, you weren't breathing."

"What I want to know is what he was doing next to the master sword and how he got in there" replied the doctor who was busy filing some papers into a drawer before turning around to face them, his large spectacles filling his face. "That room has been sealed for years and you just waltz in and find him laying there. I think he was trying to steal the sword for himself" The doctor said as he wagged a finger in Link's direction. "The first thing we should do is have the guards arrest him for trespassing!"

"Now Oblasious, you know as well as I that no one but the one the goddesses choose can wield that sword or could remove it from its pedestal." Orblasious snorted in disgust. "Now I don't know he got in there but I don't think he did any damage, the doors are shut so nobdoy can get inside."

"Well, I think he _was_ trying something and I think that the king should know about it." Orblasious said testily.

"Well, you could do that…" Talon said as he scratched his head absentmindedly. "And I could ask for you to pay for all your debts that you owe me…" The doctor, who was fiddling with a beaker, dropped it, smashing it to bits when it landed. "Now, that's preposterous! I pay all, everything!" he started to blubber and complain about this and that as Talon, Link and Malon watched in amusement. After a minute, Orblasious threw his hands in the air.

"Fine! I won't tell but you have to forgive my debts to you Talon!" Talon nodded in agreement. "Sure thing. Great doing business with you doc." Orblasious mumbled something about 'this isn't right' before walking off to a back room and slammed the door behind him. The three started to laugh as Link got out of the bed and gathered his gear and equipment that was sitting on the bed stand next to him. They walked out of the doctors office and into the bright sun. Link's mood greatly improved just by seeing that shining orb above him in the sky.

They walked down the street a ways before anyone spoke.

"Well, your name is Link right?" Talon asked.

"Yep."

"Ok," They walked on in silence a few more steps before Talon stopped. "Link, what were you doing in the Temple of Time anyways? Never have I heard of anyone opening the door of time let alone grab the master sword. How'd you do it?"

Link laughed nervously, "Well, I saw the door open and went inside. I saw the sword there and tried to touch it." _Great, now I'm lying to Talon, what next._

"So you don't know who opened it?" Malon asked.

"Nope" was Link's reply. _Now I'm lying to Malon…great. What else can happen today?_"

"Well, at least we know that you're a good kid then Link. Looks like Malon found a great friend."

They walked along the road a ways as it led up to the main market area, chatting aimlessly. Link's mind roiled with questions however, one stood out in his mind more than the others.

"So, how did you find me in there?"

Talon scratched his head and shrugged. "Well, Malon might have the answer for that one. She was the one who suggested that we visit the temple ter see ya don't ask me why." He looked down at his daughter and rubbed her head, messing up her head as she tried to keep it from becoming too disorderly, laughing all the while.

"I just thought that you might be there. I have seen you go in there before so I wanted to visit you again. I haven't seen you in about a week.

_A week? What is going on here? I haven't been gone more than an hour because of the warping through time. Does all this have to do with the pain I felt coming back?_

Link decided to take the opportunity to change the subject to something else before any other awkward questions were asked.

"So…what have you been up to?" Link asked Malon as they turned the final corner to the market.

"Ohh, nothing much. Just been getting ready for the big party at the castle tomorrow."

"Huh?" Malon looked over to see the look of confusion on Link's face.

"Ohh, so you haven't heard. They are holding some kind of party for someone. Not sure why or who though."

"Oh, ok." _A party, I wonder for who?_ Link's thoughts were suspended for a moment as they reached the market of castle town and the hustle and bustle of the big city.

It shouldn't really be called a 'town' per se since by the size of it, it was a city. The market was teeming with life from all sectors of Hyrule. Hylians, gorons and gerudos all marketed their wares and were shopping for those items that they needed. People haggling with shop owners and the normal hubbub of the market raised a continuous din. Gorons bellowing out their prices for fresh mineral water, their 'special crop' and the many jewels found while they excavated their caves. Carts of fish rumbled down the cobblestone streets as they came from Lake Hylia delivering their goods and shoppers teaming around the many exotic fabrics and silks brought from the desert by traders haggled for lower prices. All in all, it was a sight to behold and Link took in every breath of it.

_No more will I have to worry about being a hero to these people. No more will I have to see this town under Ganondorf's reign. _He was relieved to hear the happy cries of children instead of the mournful moaning of the re-dead. It was a relief to find shoppers instead of deserted buildings and flags waving instead of dust flying in the breeze. _It is good to be back._

"Hey Talon I'm going to stick around here for a while, is that ok?" The big man smiled, "Of course you can. Just remember to get back to the ranch before nightfall. Ya never know just what is out there at night. Don't want you falling into the hands of thieves now." Link nodded and started off towards one of the many stores.

As he left, Malon tugged on Talon's arm, "Can I go too?" Talon thought for a moment then shrugged his shoulders, "Can't think of anything to keep ya from doing so. Go ahead just be back by night."

"Thanks daddy!" Malon turned and sprinted off after Link who was about to enter into one of the shops.

Link pulled at the door to the bombchu bowling game when he heard his name being called from behind.

"Hey Link! Wait up!" Malon quickly caught up to him and stopped to catch her breath. "I hope you don't mind some company?" He grinned, "Why would I? I just was about to play some games." They walked in together into the bowling alley where a woman was sitting at the counter, fast asleep. Link rang the bell on the desk and the lady fluttered awake.

"Ohh, welcome to Bombchu bowling. How can I help you two?" she asked as she leaned across the counter to see them more clearly.

"We would like to play some games" Link responded as he pulled out a large purple rubee out of his wallet. The lady eyed the rubee, then Link before taking the rubee and handed them a bag of bombchu.

"Enjoy!"

Link won game after game while Malon kept on hitting the cuckoos that kept walking into her paths. Finally, she had one bombchu left and in her way stood a gigantic cuckoo. She sat on the floor and moped.

"I won't be able to get past that…that thing is huge…"

Link eyed the bird then smiled down at Malon. "Sure you can, just aim the bombchu this way," he said as he pointed towards the wall about 1/3 of the way down the course.

"How do you know it will work?" she asked.

"Trust me, I know."

Malon got up and grabbed the last bombchu in the bag and aimed at the spot Link told her to aim at. She let go of the bombchu and held her breath as it crossed the floor, ran up the wall and ceiling then came right down into the center of the target at the end of the alley. Fireworks went off as Malon screamed in joy.

"Thanks Link!" she cried as she gave him a big hug. He laughed along with her then together they walked toward the counter that held the prizes and Malon picked out a large stuffed cuckoo as a prize. They walked out of the building and back into the hustle and bustle of Castle Town.

"So, where to next grasshopper?" Link thought for a moment as he looked up at the sun to figure out the time. It was about 3pm so they had around three hours until the gates closed.

"Let's go visit the Happy Mask shop" Link exclaimed. The two children darted in and out of shoppers as they ran towards the shop and went inside. They admired the different masks and tried on several of them. Malon tried on the Goron mask to much laughter from Link while he tried on the mask of truth. They both giggled as Malon tried on the bunny hood. Eventually, Link bought the bunny hood for Malon and the mask of truth for himself. They exited the store with their items in hand and walked through the marketplace, eyeing the different items for sale until Link noticed the time.

"We go to get going, the gates will be closing in about fifteen minutes." Link said as they rounded the corner to the main road in Castle Town. Malon nodded as the two children walked briskly towards the main gate. They walked past the guards and into Hyrule Field as they saw the sun begin to set along the western mountains.

"We better get going. Dad will be waiting for us."

"I agree," Link replied as they started running towards Lon Lon Ranch. They were halfway across the field when they heard a wolf howl somewhere in the distance and a scratching sound starting to come from the ground.

"Malon put on the bunny hood and run as fast as you can!" Link said as he unsheathed his sword and watched as the first stalchild poked its head above the earth.

"What is that thing?" Malon cried as she started to tie the hood onto her head.

"A stalchild. You run ahead and I'll keep these guys off until you reach the ranch!" Malon nodded as she finished tying the last knot and felt a burst of speed as she started sprinting towards the ranch. Link tried to keep up with her while watching the stalchild's that started appearing more and more frequently. Malon was almost to the ranch when a rumbling in front of her stopped her in her tracks. A gigantic stalchild burst out of the earth in front of her, much larger than any of the others.

"LINK! HELP!" she cried as she watched it rear back and ducked as its massive hand swept the air right above her.

Link slashed at a stalchild in front of him when he heard Malon's cry and turned to watch her dodge another swing from the massive creature. He raced towards the monster while reaching into his bag for his boomerang.

"Malon duck!" he yelled. She dove to the ground as Link released his boomerang. It flew straight and hit the stalchild square in the head, freezing it in place. Link reached Malon and helped her up. "Come on, we need to get to the ranch!"

They ran around the stalchild and towards the ranch just as the massive being behind them unfroze. It wheeled around, catching Link in his shoulder and throwing him away from Malon. She turned as the monster turned towards him as Link started to get up, rubbing his shoulder.

"Link look out!"

Link looked up and saw the stalchild rear back, getting ready to attack. He jumped to his feet and rolled in between the monsters legs, slashing with his sword. The creature roared in fury as it toppled to the ground legless. Link sprinted towards Malon and grabbed her by the hand and raced towards the ranch and inside its protective walls. They ran through the small canyon leading to Malon's home and shut the gate behind them and locked it. The two children breathed heavily as they walked up the canyon.

"Well…that was fun." Link exclaimed as they made their way out of the canyon. Malon started to laugh. "Yeah. I guess it was, wasn't it."

"There you two are! I've been waiting around for you guys since before dark. You two gave me a scare!"

They turned to see a very anxious Talon running towards them then as he gave Malon a big hug.

"What were you two doing out there? Bad things come out at night yer know."

Link opened his mouth to speak but Malon spoke very quickly.

"Well, Link and I were playing in the market and he helped me win this prize and bought me this cool stuff. We saw the time and ran here as fast as we could where Link tackled this huge monster that tried to attack us. He beat it really good and we got here safely!" Malon finished, giving a simple smile to her dad.

"Well, I guess it _is_ good to have him around then huh." Malon nodded vigorously.

"Ok, then. You two go eat supper then get ready for bed. We've got a big day ahead of us."

The two children nodded then scampered off towards the house. They ate their dinner quickly then started up the stairs with Talon following behind. They reached the bedrooms and Talon opened one of the closets and brought in an extra bed and sheets for Link to sleep on. Link settled down onto his bed as Talon tucked Malon in for the night.

"We've got a big day tomorrow so get some rest you two." The children nodded as Talon blew out the candle lamp next to the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight" Link and Malon said in unison as the door closed, taking with it the last of the light, leaving only the moon and the starts shining through the window to light their room. Link sat in his bed with his hands behind his head thinking about the day. _So many things, so many questions…Why did they say I have been missing for a week? Why did I pass out when I put back the sword?_

His mind flooded with questions and he laid there for several hours before sleep finally overtook him. He closed his eyes and fell fast asleep.

Outside the window, on top of the roof, the figure moved away from the window and leapt to the ground deftly; the moonlight silhouetting the person against the ground.

_You think you are home now Link…_ The figure shook his head. _It will be sad to witness when you finally know the truth…_ The figure turned and vanished into the shadows of the night, leaving a glitter of lights behind to mark his exit…

* * *

**Cimar: Ok, well that ends chapter 1, onto chapter two!**

**Muppets: Better be better than chapter 1. We fell asleep looking at the title! Dohohohohoho**

**Cimar:...(thinks) (_maybe I can pay them off...) _Please leave a review to tell me what you think so far of the story. Next chapter will reveal many, many secrets so stay tuned! Both chapters 2 and 3 should be coming this Sunday so stayed tuned!**


	3. Chapter 2: Secrets Revealed

**Cimar: Well good news! I paid off the muppets...**

**Muppets: grumble grumble**

**Cimar: And I finished chapter 2! It clears up everything that isn't clear in chapter 1. Also, thanks to Exdeamon for helping me out in your review. I hopefully cleared up several of the points of confusion. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy Chapter 2!****

* * *

**

**Chapter 2**

The soft glow of the sun had just begun to appear over the eastern horizon, its rays starting to creep along the ground awakening those who began their day with its light. Rays of light started to radiate of Hyrule field and over the ranch that stood in its center. The sound of a cuckoo crowing could be heard and then began a new day.

It was a sound that Malon had heard all her life and was accustomed to. As soon as the cuckoo crowed, she was awake and jumped out of bed.

"Hey Link! Get out of bed! It's time to wake up"

The small boy lying in the bed grumbled something in his sleep and rolled over onto his side. Malon frowned.

"Hey Link, you need to wake up."

Nothing. Frustrated she got close to her face and yelled as loud as she could.

"HEY LISTEN! WA-"

"WHAT!?" Link jumped out of bed knocking Malon over and started looking around him fearfully as if something was following him. He stopped when he saw Malon rolling on the ground laughing.

"Was…was that you?"

"Yes!" She giggled.

"I thought you were her for a moment…" Link suddenly looked downcast compared to just a few seconds earlier.

_It was just yesterday that everything happened wasn't it…What happened to Navi? Maybe if I go to the Great Deku Tree he might have the answers for me…_

"Is something wrong?" Malon asked as she got up off the floor and brushed off her dress.

"Links stupor ended quickly. "No…nothing really…"

"Ok then sleepyhead. Breakfast should be in a few minutes. Race you downstairs!" Malon laughed as she sprinted towards the door, running through it as Link chased after her. They raced downstairs with Malon leading until Link jumped over the banister and landed in front of her, just as she got to the bottom of the stairs.

"I beat you!" Link smirked.

"No you didn't! You cheated and that makes me the winner!"

"No, I won."

"I did."

"No you didn't."

"Yes I did."

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"You two keep quiet out there or you'll have to make breakfast yourself!" Talon walked out of the kitchen and saw the two children, their faces inches away from each other who turned when he entered the room and smiled.

"Ok." They ran over to the table and sat down in two spots that already had plates and glasses set up. Talon plopped down pancakes and syrup in the middle of the table for them then sat down in his spot.

"Well, dig in."

Breakfast was surprisingly quiet considering how noisy the day had been so far. Link shoveled down pancake after pancake while Malon and Talon watched in amusement.

"That boy can eat can't he…?" Talon mumbled.

"Maybe I should change his name to caterpillar instead of grasshopper…"

Link set down his fork after wolfing down the last bite of pancake.

"I have to go and check on some things today so I have to get going. Thanks for breakfast though." Link pushed himself away from the table and hopped to the floor. Grabbing his stuff he made his way out the door, then as a second thought, he walked back in.

"Can I borrow Epona for a few hours?"

"Umm…yeah, I guess…"

"Thanks!" Link ran out the door and less than a minute later they could hear the sound of a horse galloping out of the ranch. Talon scratched his head then smirked.

"Well…that Link is one strange kid…"

_There are so many questions I need answered now. _Link thought as he urged Epona faster as he made his way towards the forest. _What happened yesterday when I came back? Where did Navi go?_

The last question really hit him hard. She had been his companion for all of his adventures and had just disappeared after he had come back. At first he thought nothing of it and was glad to have her gone. _She was kind of annoying at some points…maybe she is just hiding since I was at the doctors for a full day. Maybe she just went back to the forest…_

Link pulled up to the entrance of the forest and hopped off Epona, patted her once on her nose then ran into the depths of the forest. He knew the path so well that it was no problem for him to find his way through and across the bridge leading into the village. The forest around him gave way to a huge meadow with several large stumps serving as houses for the people who lived here. This…was his home. He walked into the village and saw Mido, the one kokiri that had teased him the most when he had lived here. Right now however, that didn't matter.

"Hey Mido."

The boss of the Kokiri turned around and as he saw Link, turned a pasty white and started to shake.

Li...Link? Is that…you?" He said nervously as the color drained even more from his face. Link was confused.

"Yeah, it's me? I have some questions that I need to ask you."

Mido backed away slowly, his knees clicking together.

"No…Just go away. Leave us in peace. Go haunt somebody else!" Mido turned and sprinted towards his door and slammed it shut. Now Link was really confused.

_Haunt? What does he mean, haunt?_ Link walked further into the village and as he saw fellow Kokiri, they had the same reaction to him as Mido's. By the time he had walked through the entire community everyone had run inside their houses and were hiding from him.

_Well, at least I know that the Great Deku Tree can't run from me._ He jumped over the little river running through the forest and jogged down the path, the Kokiri's reactions to him running through his mind.

_Why are they treating me like this…? I know that Mido doesn't like me but this time he seemed afraid of me for some reason…_ Link made his way to another clearing and saw the largest tree in the forest in front of him. Stopping in front of the tree he leaned back and looked towards the Great Deku Tree's face.

"GREAT DEKU TREE!" He shouted as loud as he could. The face didn't move nor could he hear any type of noise at all. He tried once again but there was no answer…

"The Great Deku Tree is dead Link…"

Link turned around and saw a small girl with green hair standing several feet behind him.

"Saria…finally someone to talk to." He took a step forward. "Have you seen Navi at all? I haven't seen her in two days."

Saria took a step back and rubbed her hands nervously together.

"I don't know anything about Navi, I just know that Mido asked me to ask you to leave our village and don't come back to haunt us again…" Saria let the words slip out slowly as if it pained her to speak them.

"But…Saria. It's me, Link. I came back to see all of you." Saria took another step backwards and she looked as if on the verge of tears.

"Please Link…just leave us. Don't make this hard for me."

"Why? You're my best friend!" Link yelled "Why does everyone want me gone?"

Saria was in tears now and turned to run back to village when Link caught her arm. "Please…tell me wh-"

Saria turned around and slapped him. He stood in total shock as Saria started to sob, then ran towards the exit of the clearing as quickly as she could.

"I'm Sorry Link! I'm…so…sorry…" her cries slowly fading as she finally disappeared into the forest.

_She slapped me…_he felt the mark on his face that she had left. _Saria…what have I done wrong?_

Dark clouds started to form overhead as a brisk breeze started to blow. Dead leaves rustled and blew in the wind as raindrops started to fall from above. Emotions raged inside him. He had come for answers yet all he found were more questions. _Navi is gone…Mido is afraid of me and Saria asks me to leave and never come back_._ What is going on here?_ The rain started to fall harder and harder as Link stood there in the middle of the clearing.

Link started towards the path that led into the village, ignoring the houses on either side and the curious stares of his friends who now treated him as an outcast. Several kokiri ran inside their houses at just the site of him while others watched him in fear from their windows. As Link neared the clearing he looked up at the entrance to the forest temple where he noticed Saria staring down at him, almost pleading with him to leave. His emotions finally erupted and Link's anger took over him.

"FINE THEN!!" he roared as tears of his own started to form. "IF YOU DON'T WANT ME ANYMORE!!!! THEN I DON'T NEED YOU!!!" He heard a loud sob come from Saria as he ran out of his former home. The only thing he left behind were the small teardrops that fell from his eyes and a part of his heart that was no longer there…

Link burst out of the forest and ran to Epona, leaping onto the horses back, frightening the young horse. She reared and threw Link off of her and galloped away towards Lon Lon Ranch.

"FINE! I DON'T NEED YOU EITHER!" he yelled after her as she galloped away. Link watched her leave then collapsed to his knees sobbing.

"First Saria, then Epona…why did I come back here…I thought that everything would be fine if I came back…"

The clouds let loose their fury as rain began to pour from the sky and a flash of lightning illuminated the heavens.

"That is a good question indeed young Link…"

Link spun around as he heard the voice yet didn't see anyone around him.

"Where are you? Who are you?"

"Aren't you filled with good questions today…" a very sarcastic sounding voice replied.

Link looked around him again and still found nobody around him.

"Are you going to answer me or not?" There was a pause with the only sound being the rustling of the leaves in the wind.

"Wouldn't you like to know…?"

Link heard through the wind a soft thud behind him although very faint and he was no going to take any chances tonight. He withdrew his sword and spun around, lunging forward at whoever or whatever had just landed behind him. He caught a glimpse of blue and white out of the corner of his eye after his lunge as well as the blunt end of a knife. Stars burst into his vision as the knife connected with his head and he was momentarily dazed when he felt something connect with his stomach.

The shock of the impact made him stumble backwards when another kick sent him sprawling to the ground. He felt as the person attacking him grabbed his hand and twisted it, releasing the sword from his grasp then as he was still reeling from the pain in his hand, felt as he was picked up and thrown forward to his feet. He turned and withdrew a deku nut from his pocket and was about to release it when he saw the person attacking him for the first time.

"…Sheik?"

Sheik nodded and Link could only guess if he had a grin underneath that cowl of his. The blue sheikah looked exactly the same as he had before when Link was in the future, the blue bodysuit, cowl and large red eye in the middle of his chest.

"Sheik? What are you doing here? I thought you were only in the future and why did you attack me?" Link asked as he rubbed his wrist painfully.

_You would have been beaten badly if I was an adult…_

"Please," Sheik responded, "One question at a time… First off, I'm here to help you, second I can transcend all time boundaries and third…" Link could tell he was smiling, "you attacked me first…"

"Well, ok then." _I still would have beaten you…_ "What are you doing here?"

"I have some important things to tell you that should answer most if not all of your questions you might have. First off with the biggest news first. Link, this is not your time."

"…what?" Sheik shook his head.

"What I mean is that when you went back in time after placing the master sword, it sent you to a different timeline. Navi made it back to your time period yet for some reason you ended up in this one."

_Well, at least I know that Navi is ok…_

"Something else you should know about this world is…your supposed to be dead."

_Now that is a shocker…_ "Wait, you mean to tell me that the Link here is dead? Is that the reason why Saria and Mido were acting so weird?" Sheik nodded.

"Yes, they heard about your death from the forest because of the connection they have to it. It turned out that Ganondorf in this realm has the same plans as the Ganondorf you defeated. When he found out about his and Zelda's plans, he waited for this realms Link outside of Jabu Jabu and after Ruto had left him…" Sheik's voice dropped and his tone was melancholy. "Ganondorf slew him and took the three spiritual stones from him." Link bowed his head realizing fully now why Saria and Mido were acting so strange.

"I'm supposed to be dead then…" Link whispered.

"Yes. Luckily for us Ganondorf could only place the three stones and did not have the ocarina of time to open the door of time. The only problem is he is going to try and take it tonight. Link jerked upright.

"What?!"

"There is a formal banquet being held tonight to honor the new peace agreement between Hyrule and the Gerudo, and Ganondorf is the special guest of honor. To make matters worse, Zelda does not know what has happened to you since Ganondorf had killed this worlds Link five days ago. He will try and take the ocarina of time tonight and you have to stop him since there is nobody else here that can."

Link nodded solemnly. "So I just have to head off to the castle, beat Ganondorf and prevent him from taking the ocarina all while acting like the Link in this realm, who Ganondorf killed… Did I get everything?" Sheik laughed.

"Not quite…Ganondorf does not know you are here so you have the element of surprise."

"Thank you Sheik" Link said as he bowed. "At least now a lot of things are making sense to me…Sheik? Are you ok?"

Sheik was standing completely rigid; his red eye that was not covered by his cowl flickered then went pale.

"Sheik?"

Sheik toppled forward as Link tried to catch him when Sheik came back to his senses and managed to catch himself just in time.

"What's wrong?!" Link asked as Sheik started to wheeze and gasp for breath.

"Sorry…I have…to go… I can only stay…for a little while, while…the magic lasts…"

"What do you mean 'the magic lasts'. Sheik what's wrong?"

Sheik silenced Link and stood back up with difficulty. "I came from your realm to speak to you and my magic is waning…" Sheiks breathing started to become even more tiresome for him.

"I will talk with you again…just get to Zelda…Get to the castle…stop Ganondorf…" Link did not notice as Sheik grabbed a small round object out of his belt pouch. "I have faith in you Link. Goodbye, for now."

"Wait a sec-" Link was blinded by a powerful flash of light as the deku nut slammed into the ground. When he was finally able to see again, the sheikah was gone. He stood for several seconds; absorbing the information that Sheik had given him then started to sprint towards Lon Lon Ranch.

* * *

Malon was walking from the barn to the house with a final load of milk that they would be delivering to the banquet at the castle when she heard the galloping of hooves approaching and Epona appear around the entrance of the ranch. 

"Epona? Why are you back without Link?" The horse neighed affectionately as Malon patted it on its neck.

_Where did Link go I wonder…?_ She thought as she led Epona into the barn and out of the rain and fierce wind. As she came back out of the barn a few minutes later, she saw Link running up the path towards her.

"Ohh, there you are Link, I was beginning to wonder where you had gone. I-"

"Malon, where is Epona?"

Malon was shocked by Link's appearance. He was totally drenched from head to toe and was breathing heavily like he had run a long distance.

"She is in the barn getting some rest for-"

"I need her now. This is urgent." Just by the look on his face she could tell something was up. He did not look like the fun-loving forest boy from earlier. He now looked like a mad man. All Malon could do was nod.

* * *

**Cimar: Ahh...cliffhangers. Always fun to write but never to read. Also, I now would like to introduce...SHEIK as a new official commentator for this story.**

**Sheik: Thanks for the introduction but you know, I kind of am in this story so I could ruin it for you...**

**Cimar: You wouldn't do that now...would you?**

**Sheik: (smiles underneath cowl)**

**Cimar: Anyways, stay tuned for chapter three coming up soon! And please review otherwise Sheik could get mad.**

**Sheik: laughs He means it!**


	4. Chapter 3: Why Link hates Guards

**Cimar: Ok, here is chapter 3, all ready to be read.**

**Sheik: Why am I not in this chapter?**

**Cimar: Well, I didn't really have a place for you...**

**Sheik: (glares)**

**Cimar: Hehehe... Have fun reading this chapter!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 3**

Hyrule Field passed quickly underneath Epona's hooves as Link ran her as fast as he could towards Castle Town. The sky, which had been an ominous black and the rain that had been pelting down had finally stopped and the sky started to turn back to its normal, peaceful calm. Black clouds still loomed on the horizon which threatened more rain yet Link would miss it by minutes if he was quick enough.

_I got to get to Zelda to tell her what has happened and warn her about Ganondorf. He might already be there…_

Link kicked Epona to run even faster and the chestnut colored mare neighed in approval, quickening its already lightning fast pace. They neared the massive gates of Castle Town and sped across the bridge, the clickity-clack of Epona's hooves echoing around them as they passed through the entrance and into the massive streets of the city.

Luckily for the horse and rider, the rain had caused people to head inside to keep from being soaked so very few souls were braving the weather today, although there were several close calls as they galloped through the town.

In front of them as they rounded a corner was an old man pushing a cart filled with silks and tapestries crossing the street directly in front of the speeding pair. The old man saw Link blazing towards him and only had to time to dive below his cart as Epona leapt over the cowering man and cart.

"Sorry!"

The old man crawled out from under his cart and yelled as Link flew down the street and past the Temple of Time. He only heard a few words and knew that they were not the most pleasant of terms he had been called yet he didn't care. Only one thing was going through his mind at this point…

_I have to get to Zelda!_

They finally reached the winding path leading towards the castle that rose above them behind Castle Town. Link slowed Epona down to a leisurely trot as he admired the edifice in front of him.

The castle was indeed impressive. Its large marble walls gleamed in the sun and protected the massive structure within. Large towers dotted each corner of the inner building, their pillars topped with stately blue tiled roofs and large, picturesque windows indicating where rooms could be found inside. Hylian flags fluttered in the breeze atop every parapet and tower along the wall and indicated just how powerful the kingdom of Hyrule had become. The large centre structure was made out of pure white marble and exuded the brilliance and elegance of the structure as it rose towards the heavens.

Hyrule Castle also stood atop a hill, just above castle town and commanded an impressive view of the surrounding countryside all the way from Kakariko Village in the east, to the lands of the Gerudo in the West. It had withstood many sieges and battles and had always managed to keep its defenders safe and was partly the reason behind Hyrule's success during the last few decades. Kings and Queens came from all around to meet with the Hylian royalty and some to simply seek alliances with the age-old kingdom. All in all, Link felt the power behind the castle's walls and knew the secrets of getting inside where few except for nobility have gone.

He leapt off Epona and onto the ground, looking around him to see if anyone was near enough to see him. After making sure nobody was around, he grabbed onto some nearby vines and scrambled up quickly; poking his head up at the top to make sure it was clear for him to continue.

"_This is going to be a piece of cake yet again"_ he thought to himself as he ran across the top off the cliff and let himself down through a hole at the top of the gate, guarding the entrance to the castle. Ducking and running, he made his way the outside gardens and climbed over the final wall and slid quietly into the moat.

He climbed out of the moat and towards a tiny waterfall coming out of the castle. _Why can't they make this water warmer, it wouldn't be that difficult…?_ He jumped across several boxes and crawled through a small passageway into the inners of the castle walls, shivering from the cold water he was crawling through.

Poking his head out, he saw nobody around and climbed out of the water and started into the maze that was the gardens. Sneaking around guards, climbing over hedges and sometimes even hiding behind statues, he made his way towards the last set of guards. After studying their paths and routines, he found an opening and sprinted through it skidding to a stop outside of the entrance to the innermost part of the gardens.

_Oh great…_

"We need to have twice as many guards around the walls tonight so company A and B, you garrison the wall while Company C, I want several of you to be inside the banquet hall and the rest just outside throughout the entire meal. Do you understand me?" Several guards nodded hesitantly and some seemed to be asleep or at least in the beginning stages of it.

_If these guards are the best we have then Goddesses' save us from Ganondorf because none of these guys can or could._

Impa stared around at the fifty or so guards standing in front of her and mentally kicked herself for even thinking they could protect the princess and king if Ganondorf tried anything during the banquet. She withdrew one of her sheikah knives from her belt and stabbed the podium, creating a loud thud as well as sticking the knife in three inches into the wood. The guards instantly refocused onto Impa as she stared back down at them.

"Men, you know who is coming tonight and yet you are still as lax as dogs! Do you understand the seriousness of what is happenin-" In the corner of her vision near the entrance of the garden was a small child dressed entirely in green. She stopped speaking and turned to get a better look at the intruder into her meeting. Several guards turned their heads to see what the reason was that the sheikah had stopped lecturing them and saw the boy standing at the entrance of the room, now backing away smiling nervously.

"Hehe…he…hi…"

At that moment…a nightmare broke loose in Hyrule Castle.

"AN INTRUDER! GET HIM!"

All at once, dozens of guards broke rank and started towards the small child, eyes wide in panic.

_This is not what I wanted to happen!!_

Link sprinted off towards a nearby hallway and ran through a door close by, disappearing from view as the hoard of guards thundered after him.

Impa was still standing at the podium, her eyes still transfixed upon the spot where the child had stood. _Was that…Link?_

Link ran wildly through the corridors of the castle, scrambling this way and that dodging servants and guards alike through his mad dash around the castle as guards tumbled after him, tripping over themselves trying to be the one to catch him.

_Why me, Why me WHY ME!!!_ Link dove under the legs of a servant that tried to block his way down the hall, rolled forward and started forward again. The poor servant turned to chase after him but unfortunately was in the way of several guards who in their haste, had forgotten that he was there.

Link heard a sickening thud and a loud crash of metal yet didn't look back to see but knew that those involved would be in pain the rest of that day and the next. Link sprinted down another hallway only to find at the end of it were several guards standing idly against the wall, chatting away; that is until they saw Link.

"Hey, kid! You're not supposed to be here!"

_Why does everything have to be hard with me…? Why?_

Link turned around to run back the way he came but saw several guards turn the corner and stop, blocking his pathway back the way he had come.

"We got you now kid…" panted one guard as he smiled wearily. "Now just be a good kid and let us throw you out a window." Several of the other guards around him muttered their agreement and started slowing walking towards him, their bodies creating a wall across the hallway. Link looked behind him to see the guards down there doing the exact same thing.

"I guess it's too late to say who I am?" Link asked while laughing nervously.

"The only problem with that is that we don't care."

_What to do, what to do…_ Link ran through his choices in his mind as he counted the guards. There were only four in front of him and three behind him. He could take them all if he was an adult but as a kid he couldn't even think of trying.

_Arrows…? No, can't hurt them. Bombs? No, no, no…Slingshot… boomerang… deku nuts…deku nuts?_ Link felt around in his pocket and felt three small objects about the size of walnuts and grinned.

"Well, it looks like you caught me so I guess I can give you all a present!" The guards stopped advancing and stared quizzically at him as he produced the three small objects from his pocket.

"I hope you enjoy them!" One of the guards squinted his eyes then as he saw what Link held widened them in horror.

"DON'T DROP THOSE KID! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPP-"

A bright flash illuminated the entire hallway as all three deku nuts smashed into the floor, releasing the magic inside.

"MY EYES!" The lead guard yelled as he took the brunt of the blast. "BLASTED KID! WAIT 'TIL I FIND YOU!!!"

Link ran between the stumbling guards and down the hallway and into one of the closest doors, shutting it behind him, the sounds of the guards stumbling blindly behind him and their curses following after him. He breathed heavily as he slid down against the door and onto the floor. He glanced around at the room he was in and cursed his luck. Inside, the only furniture in the room was a single cot lying on the floor in a nearby corner and a small wooden desk and table in another that were covered with various weapons and instruments, several of which Link could recognize while others he could not. Maps of all of Hyrule dotted the walls and maps of several places Link had never even seen before.

_Termina…Holodrum…Labrynna? Where are these places?_

Link heard scrambling outside as the guards regained the ability to see.

"He couldn't have gone far!" one yelled. "Start checking the rooms to see where he is!"

"Drat…" Link muttered as he looked around the room for a hiding place and found none. He heard several doors open and shut while voices yelled out 'He's not here' or 'Not here either'. The sounds of doors opening and closing came closer and closer as Link finally ducked behind the door, hoping that they wouldn't do a thorough inspection of the rooms. He heard the door to the room click and the door handle start to turn.

"Guard. What do you think you are doing entering my room?"

The door stopped opening and he could hear the guard leave the door. "I'm sorry ma'am but the intruder was last seen in this hallway and we were just looking for him." Link peaked through the crack in the door and saw a very angry Impa staring down at the guard who had opened the door.

"So does that give you an excuse to go into my chambers without my permission!" She said icily as the guard gulped in fear.

"No…no it doesn't…" Impa glared down at the guard, then took a quick glance through the crack straight at Link.

_Ohh…drat…_

He thought he was done for but instead of outing him, Impa quickly gave him grin and went back to glaring at the guard.

"I believe that you have a post you are to be attending…"

"Ye…yes…"

"Good…" she said leaning down towards him. "Then go NOW!" The guard leapt in the air then raced down the hall while the other guards joined him as Impa smiled at their promptness.

"Finally they obey an order…" She turned back to the door and opened it the rest of the way, revealing a very grateful Link giving her a thumbs up as she smiled back.

"Thanks Impa, you really saved me there."

"No problem Link, but next time…use the front gate. You have permission you know…"

"Oh…I guess I forgot…sorry, hehe…" Impa stared down at him, then shook her head.

"Well, I guess I should be glad that you are back after your disappearing act this last week. I mean, dying and all does do that to a person…"

"You...know? But, how?" The sheikah turned very serious. "I have my ways…"

"Was it Sheik?" Link asked after a long pause. Impa nodded slowly.

"It appears that the goddesses have blessed us with you after the tragic death of our Link. Yesterday while I was meditating in this room, Sheik appeared and told me everything" she paused, "I still haven't told the princess about what has happened to Link."

Link thought about what the princess' reaction would be to such news that Ganondorf had killed her hero, the one she had sent on the mission now assigned to him.

"How is Zelda doing then if she doesn't know about what happened? I mean, if she doesn't know, can't we keep it that way?" Impa laughed.

"You forget that she can foretell events and predict the future. She could already know and be hiding it or she will eventually find out the truth. I figure we should bring it up sooner than later, preferably tonight." Impa paced over to her desk where she started fiddling with several of the knives and gadgets on the table, putting several of them into her belt.

"You will have a special mission tonight however Link." She said still focused on the desk in front of her. "You need to make sure that Ganondorf does not try anything tonight. His goal is the ocarina of time and if he can take that from Zelda then there is nothing stopping him from receiving the triforce."

"So, you just want me to beat him if he tries anything dumb?"

"In a word…yes." She turned to face him. "However, if he does anything to cause pain to the princess or you fail in protecting her tonight…" her eyes glistened darkly, "then Ganondorf will be the least of your worries…"

_Great…_Link thought as Impa asked him to follow him to the door and led him outside and into the hallway.

"Don't worry about anything Impa, I won't let anything happen to Zelda. You know I would give my life to keep Ganondorf from controlling the triforce."

"That is exactly what the Link he killed said…" Impa mused as they walked down the hall together.

"You have to remember Link, you are a child, not an adult. As I heard from Sheik, you barely beat Ganondorf when as an adult so what do you think would happen if you challenged him as a kid? Just remember what happened to this realms Link. He decided to fight one on one instead of finding allies."

Link paused as he thought of what had happened to this realms Link. He could only imagine what could have happened to him and judging by his memories of his own battle with Ganondorf, it would not have been pretty.

"Remember though, I will be right there as well and I have posted dozens more guards around the room in case anything happens. If he tries anything, let the guards help, that is what they are trained to do. We can't afford to lose you like we did our own-"

"Link!"

Both Impa and Link turned to see a small blonde girl running towards them, smiling brightly.

"Good evening Zelda." Impa bowed slightly and Link smiled brightly.

"Hey Zelda, long time no see."

"I know," she responded. "Where have you been?"

"Umm, around…" She stared at him questioningly for a moment, then her smile came back.

"Well it is good to have you back, especially with what is going on tonight with Ganondorf. I can't believe father believes he is an honest man." She scowled.

"Well, that's why I am here princess. He won't try anything while I'm around."

"That is good to know then." Zelda smiled.

"Princess, we have to get going," Impa intruded. "The banquet will be starting soon and you need to be there to greet our _guest_" she spat out the last word with disgust.

"Don't worry princess, we will be right next to you, there is no way he will try anything with us around." Link responded.

_At least I hope not…_he quietly thought to himself.

The trio made their way through the halls and corridors until they arrived at an impressive looking door, which when Impa opened, led directly into the throne room.

Inside, the room was decorated to its finest. Violet drapes hung across the ceiling and down the sides of the walls. Banners hung over each window with the Hylian royal seal as well as the triforce. A large table had been set up in the center of the room and had enough seats for several dozen people while another table had been set up in front of the throne.

"Annoucing the entrance of the princess Zelda and the sheikah Impa!" announced a herald from a corner of the room as they entered. Everyone in the room turned as they entered and Link noticed several of the guards whispering to each other and giving him evil glares to which he responded with a cheerful wave and smile.

Zelda and Impa took their places on either side of the throne where King Harkinian was sitting. Zelda walked up to him and gave her father a big hug, then sat down next to him. Link just stood next to Zelda until he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see a servant holding a chair. He moved and let the servant place the chair next to Zelda and then sat down.

"Looks like we have the best seats in the house" Link whispered to Zelda.

"Yeah we do." They laughed and talked for a little while until the door at the far end of the room opened and a herald walked into the room. Everyone fell silent as all eyes fell onto the lone man.

"Your highness, King Harkinian and Princess Zelda. I come to announce the arrival of Lord Ganondorf and King of the Gerudo!"

The herald backed away towards the wall as several sets of footsteps could be heard coming towards them, growing louder and louder. Up the steps that led to the throne room came the future King of Evil could be seen walking into the room, along with two bodyguards in full battle regalia, short swords at their waist. Ganondorf smiled wickedly as he entered the room, the light glistening off of his black armor and the heavy thuds of his footsteps echoing off the walls.

He made his way towards the three empty seats at the end of the table and bowed to one knee.

"Greetings King Harkinian. It is a pleasure to meet you again."

Ganondorf had arrived.

* * *

**Cimar: Well hope you enjoyed this chapter. More will be coming soon so don't worry! Next chapter will be chock full of action!**

**Sheik: And I hope it has me in it as well...**

**Cimar: ...and Sheik of course.**

**Sheik:...**


	5. Chapter 4: Treachery at the Doors

**Cimar: (depressed look on his face)**

**Sheik: Yeah...this chapter wasn't the best for ole Cimar to write...**

**Cimar: Oh the humanity! Oh the horror! Why did I begin writing this!!!**

**Sheik: Just read for yourself to find out what happens, and hopefully Cimar will cheer up by next chapter.**

**Cimar: Poor, poor Link... (sniff) I hope you all enjoy!**

**PS: I included the first of my reviewers as characters in this chapter. Some of my older readers will recognize them and don't worry, they have a major roll later on (and they are good too )**

**Warning: This chapter gets kind of violent at some points so I upped the rating from K to T. It still is clean, just a couple of battle scenes, that's all.**

**

* * *

****Chapter 4: Treachery at the Doors**

The entire dinner for Link only focused on one person, and that person was sitting directly across from him. Even though the banquet lasted for at least several hours, Link couldn't seem to focus on anything except for that single person who, every now and then he would catch returning his gaze.

_What are you thinking Ganondorf…What goes on in your twisted mind that I should know about…?_

"Link. Stop staring at him and eat, you are creeping out some of the dignitaries here."

Link lost his focus on Ganondorf and turned to look at Zelda who was giving him a concerned look.

"I know that you must be hungry Link, Malon here has told me about your humongous appetite."

"Sorry, I was just, thinking…" Link said as he grabbed his fork and started into the roast cucco on his plate. _How did Malon know I ate so much?_

During the dinner, Malon had come in with Talon, helping him to carry in some more milk and roast cucco for the guests when she had seen Link sitting up with Zelda. Link was lucky to have seen her and asked Zelda if she could come sit by them. She was delighted by the idea and immediately set up another chair for Malon right in between Zelda and her father. Through Link's peripheral vision he noticed that they had done nothing but talk and laugh the entire meal, which at some points caused several of the guests to look up irritably from their food.

"Hey Link." Malon leaned over the table in order to see him better as she spoke, "what have you been doing this entire time. I thought that you would be your usual self. Aren't you excited to be sitting up here with Zelda and King Harkinon?"

"Harkinian."

Malon turned to look at the king who was looking at her sternly.

"That is the fourth time this meal you know." Malon looked a little scared as Harkinian stared down at her until he started to smile. "I've told you to just call me Uncle since apparently I look like your uncle Reg." He belted out a hearty laugh as Malon smiled up at him.

"Ok Uncle, anyways Link" she started as she turned back around, "Aren't you excited?"

"Well yeah. Of course I'm having fun," he said as he faked a smile. "I'm just thinking…a lot…"

"That's unusual for you then," Malon chirped.

Zelda almost choked on her food as she started to snicker. Link scoffed and went back to picking at his food while taking quick glances up at Ganondorf who was laughing at something as well.

He was sitting in between his two guards at the far end of the table. Link could tell that the guards were not Gerudo's since they did not have the long red hair and their faces were different than the ones he knew like Nabooru. Link looked behind him and saw Impa leaning against the wall where she had been since she finished her meal. He waved her over and she leisurely walked over next to his seat and crouched down to talk to him.

"Impa, do you know who Ganondorf's two guards are?" She shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I do not. I have never seen those two before but I do know that they are definitely not Gerudo."

"Why would Ganondorf be using guards other than them? They are some of the most excellent fighters around so why would he use anybody else?"

Impa pondered Link's question, then eyed the two guards again. Both were women she could tell but were not Gerudo. Both were wearing full suits of leather armor, with what seemed like plate mail on their shoulders and arms while their helmets covered most of their faces. Even their eyes were hidden behind some sort of veil. One of them was eased back in her chair and was slouching, either from boredom or general distaste for the evening she couldn't tell while the other seemed much more animated and was busily talking to either Ganondorf or the person on her other side.

"Have you figured out anything?" Link asked after Impa had carefully studied the two guards.

"Not really, all I can say is that the one who would be more dangerous is the one leaning back in her chair. She-"

"Wait," Link interrupted as he narrowed his eyes to get a better look at them. "I see a little symbol just below their shoulders, it kind of looks like an eye. What is it?"

Impa inspected the area where Link was talking about more carefully just as they noticed that Ganondorf was starting to stand. Impa's eyes widened as she realized what exactly the symbol was that Link was talking about.

"Link, do not face those two guards at all cost if they attack." Her eyes were widened, not in fear but in total shock.

"Why?" Link responded. "Am I missing something?"

Ganondorf was now standing and tapped his glass in order to speak.

"Yes," Impa answered. "Those eye symbols are only found in one group of people."

"Thank you King Harkinian for inviting myself to join you in this grand dinner and gathering." Ganondorf was grinning widely. Link looked up at Impa expectantly.

"Those guards are sheikah." Links eyes widened. _This is not going to be good…_

"Again, my thanks for what you and I have been able to accomplish in such as small time between our two nations. For centuries our nations have been at odds with each other and even at some points, open conflict however, with this new peace that we have signed, I hope that we will be able to put the past behind us. Thus, as King and ruler of the Gerudo, I agree with the terms of the peace treaty."

There was applause throughout the room as King Harkinian rose as well.

"Greetings from the Kingdom of Hyrule, Lord Ganondorf. As you yourself know, this peace treaty will begin a new era of harmony between the two of our lands. This is a significant event and especially since it was enacted in such short time."  
Link leaned over to Zelda, "When did this happen? I don't remember any talk of a peace treaty before I left." Zelda turned to him as Harkinian went on speaking, her voice a whisper.

"It actually happened around the time you disappeared. Ganondorf arrived at the castle with the treaty in his hand, ready for it to be ratified. It really surprised me."

"Ok." Link turned back to listen to the speeches going on. King Harkinian finished and sat down in his chair while Ganondorf still stood.

"If you wouldn't mind King Harkinian, I would like to repeat a little history for the assembled crowd to really show how important today's event will be…"

Harkinian nodded his assent and Ganondorf continued.

"As we all know, this world used to be a desolate place. Even the deserts of our eastern lands were no comparison to what used to be Hyrule. The Goddesses saw this and knew something needed to change. Together, they used their powers to shape our lands and in their wisdom, created Hyrule."

At the end of speaking he raised up his left arm and held his palm facing up. Inside were three small balls, each a little large than the size of a cucco's egg.

"Din, with her ferocious power shaped and changed the land to that what we knew." At that moment, one of the balls lifted into the air and suddenly burst into red flames. The audience ohhh'd and ahhh'd as the fiery little ball danced in the air.

"Next, Farore with her magic gave life to the land and created the beautiful landscapes that we see in all directions." Another ball rose into the air and it burst into a bright green flame.

"Lastly, Nayru, in her wisdom, created wisdom and magic, giving it to those chosen in the land." The final ball rose and burst into a soft blue flame. The three balls now danced in the air, spinning in a slow circle.

"Now as we all know, when the Goddesses left the world, they left behind an artifact of significant value, one that has eluded all who have sought it." His voice dropped to a low growl almost. "Until now…" He clenched his hand into a fist and as he did, the multi-colored balls smashed into each other in a dazzling display of sparks and light. Link and Impa were watching him closely now and Link could just feel that something was wrong or was about to happen. Ganondorf noticed his anxiety and simply grinned before he went back to his narrative.

"The Triforce…the ultimate power which many have sought and none have claimed. Its hiding place has been hidden for centuries with only one family having the knowledge and necessary means of getting to it. King Harkinian, you have kept the knowledge of how to get into the Sacred Realm, you know how to claim its power…now I wish to have that knowledge."

King Harkinian's face turned red and his temper rose.

"So, is that what all this was about? I thought that you were wanting something in return for this treaty but wishing the power of the Triforce?!" Harkinian got to his feet. "If that is what you want, you will never get it for any one who even tries to claim its power does not deserve such. Guards! Arrest that man for treachery!" The guards that were in the room unsheathed their weapons and pushed their way forward through the crowds following the kings order as both Impa and Link rose to their feet, Link started to mutter softly under his breath as Impa was already unsheathing her sheikan knives.

Ganondorf shrugged his shoulders as the guards ran forward to seize him. "Very well, I guess you won't give this to me the easy way…" With a snap of his fingers, his two guards at his sides leapt backwards out of their chairs, landing perfectly on their feet, their swords drawn. In quick succession, they leapt into the midst of the approaching guards and commenced the work. Guard after guard fell to the ground; none being able to counter or even were able to attack the two guards. Noblemen and women at this point were running around frantically searching for an exit as the sound of battle echoed throughout the chambers. Within moments, all of the guards were either knocked out or crying painfully, holding onto their wounds as the two guards re-sheathed their swords, laughing softly.

"Sister, that was way too easy...why can't they be more fun." The other guard laughed. "Maybe because they are just pathetic" the guard turned to Impa who was still standing next to Link and Zelda with both of her knives held defensively. "Maybe she might be more fun than these" she said, kicking a nearby unconscious guard.

Ganondorf smiled as he began to raise his hand, the glowing orb of energy sizzling in his hand.

"And now…is where the real fun begins…"

Ganondorf reared back his arm and threw the energy straight towards Zelda. She watched it as it came hurtling towards her. Before it hit she saw a green blur leap out in front of her and her eyes widened as a loud bang and a bright flash of light fill the room.

"LINK!!! NOOOOO!!!!"

Link's body hurled through the air backwards and crashed against the wall, his limp form falling to the ground with a soft thud; a large burn mark that still smoldered across the front of his chest. Zelda and Malon both stood in complete shock. Impa leapt forward, her two blades twirling in her hands. Sprinting across the room she leapt up into the air then disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Re-appearing behind Ganondorf she prepared to strike when two swords connected with both of her knives. The two guards smiled as Impa's anger began to rise.

_Just...two…more…inches…! Curse you Ganondorf!!!_

She leapt backwards sliding across the ground and took a defensive position as the two sheikan guards stood between her and Ganondorf.

Ganondorf stood motionless, staring straight ahead at King Harkinian.

"I do believe that you are no longer needed as King." A bright flash of light burst into Ganondorf's hand as he started forward across the room. When he was within twenty feet of the king, he laughed softly and produced another ball of energy in his other hand.

"Now, prepare to be, dethroned!" Ganondorf roared as he smashed both balls of energy together creating one massive, glowing orb. Grabbing it in one hand he threw it forward straight at Harkinian who tried to dive out of the way but the energy caught him in the shoulder, spinning him around in the air like a rag doll.

"FATHER!!!" Zelda ran her fathers form lying on the ground and started to shake him, her tears flowing freely and without restraint.

"Father…father…please, say something…please…"

"He won't be saying anything for quite a while, princess." Zelda heard a loud crack behind her and turned to see Ganondorf splintering the table that was between them in half with a mighty kick.

"You have something that I need Zelda…something that if you give me, I might just spare your life." Zelda turned to look at her father then back at Ganondorf as her face contorted in rage.

"I will never give you what you desire! I will never allow a madman and a murderer like you to get the triforce!"

Ganondorf grinned, "I like you kid…you have spunk, however," he said producing another ball of energy, "that is something you will need to learn to be rid of…" The orb glowed brighter in his hand as he started forward towards the princess, stepping over the broken table, not noticing the small, red headed child that was creeping up behind him. Malon jumped forward across the broken table with a small knife she had used during dinner and plunged it into Ganondorf's left leg. He roared in pain, turning around.

"YOU LITTLE CRETIN!!!" He snarled as he kicked Malon straight in the chest across the room towards Link. She slid to a stop and tried to get back up, coughing horribly and gripping at her tiny chest. Several ribs had been broken and she could feel them digging into her chest. The evil king spit at her and pulled the knife out of his leg.

"You will stay there if you want to live girl" he said turning back to Zelda with an evil grin on his face.

"Now…where were we?"

"RIGHT HERE!"

Ganondorf turned in time to see a small green clad figure leap off of the broken table and smash a small wooden shield straight into his face. He spun backwards, tripping over the broken table and falling backwards, landing face first on the hard marble floor, breaking his nose in the process. Pushing himself up, he saw Link standing in the middle of the destroyed table, breathing hard, his sword unsheathed.

"I don't know how you survived brat…" the Gerudo spat as he snapped his nose back into place "But I do know one thing…I've killed you before…and I can DO IT AGAIN!!!" He lunged forward unsheathing a pure black sword and smashed it downwards straight at Link who dodged out of the way just in time. Link leapt away to safety as Ganondorf again swung his blade sideways towards him, smashing everything off of one of the surviving tables. He roared in fury as he strode towards Link, sword in hand.

"I will enjoy killing you more this time. You will curse the day you were born rather than go through what I will do to you!"

Impa blocked several blows in a row with her knives and tried to counter with a swift kick to the abdomen of one of the sheikan guards, who grunted in pain at the impact and stumbled backwards. The other guard sliced downwards, then across in a z pattern which Impa narrowly avoided by doing a backflip. She took a step backwards and felt the wall directly behind her as the two guards started to grin.

"A shiekah master being beat by us? Has that happened before sister?"

"Yes, I believe we have done that before…" responded the other guard.

"Well, I guess we will each have one now." They started forward their swords drawn in an offensive stance when they heard a loud cracking sound behind them followed by a loud thud a few seconds later accompanied by the roaring of Ganondorf. The guards stopped advancing and seemed to stumble somewhat and lowered their guards for less than a second.

It was all Impa needed.

She quickly threw a deku nut to the floor, stunning both guards at once with its bright light and leapt forward while they were stunned. Using her knives as bludgeons, she smashed them into the stomach of one of the guards, then across her back, knocking her out instantly. She followed up by knocking the legs out from under the other guard and meeting her fall with her knives used as a bludgeoning tool. The second guard fell to the ground moaning quietly as Impa stood up, breathing heavily. Quickly she leaned back down and tore the helmet off of one of the guards head and saw what she was looking for, a large black G was pulsating on the forehead of the sheikan guard.

_Curse that Ganondorf for taking control of a shiekah. _She reached in her bag and removed a small black pouch filled with a fine powder and sprinkled it onto the forehead of the guard. The G disappeared and she did the same to the other guard as well. She turned back to see what had happened to Link and prepared herself to attack Ganondorf when she saw him already fighting another.

"Link?"

* * *

The two combatants swung and parried across the room, their swords barely missing each other after each blow. Ganondorf relentlessly pursued Link, switching between his sword and magic while Link would mostly leap out of the way. A blow from Ganondorf smashed into a table next to Link, smashing it into slivers as he dove and rolled out of the way. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small wooden boomerang and started running away from Ganondorf who jumped over the table to pursue him. 

"What's the matter boy, are you afraid of death."

"No. Are you?" Link replied. The Gerudo thief paused momentarily as Link spun around and threw the wooden weapon at his foes head, who tried to block it with his arm.

Ganondorf missed.

The boomerang slammed directly into his face, again smashing his nose and blinding him with the pain. He grimaced in pain as he tried to open his eyes to see and saw a small round black and blue object flying towards him. His eyes widened in horror as he saw a small fuse that was burning at the top of it. The moment it connected with his armor, it exploded.

BOOOM!

Zelda had watched the entire battle between Link and Ganondorf and watched with a horrid fascination as the bomb went off against the evil king's chest. Smoke filled the area around him for several moments then cleared enough to where she could see Ganondorf again. He was still standing up and appeared to be fine until she looked closer. A large hole was now located where his chest plate used to be and his clothes were even more blackened by soot. His eyes started to roll back in his head and he collapsed to the floor without a sound.

Link stood panting across from Ganondorf for several seconds until he could walk without stumbling and headed straight towards the throne area where he saw Zelda near her fathers form. He also saw Malon groaning and crying several feet away from the throne, clutching at her chest, her breathing sounding horribly pained. Link made his way towards Zelda and stared down at her, an urgent look on his face.

"Zelda, I need you to heal Malon. If she doesn't get help, she will die." Zelda stared over at the quivering frame of Malon then back at her father.

"Zelda! Malon needs you! Your father is ok, just unconscious. He will survive but if you don't do something to help Malon she will die!"

The princess shook her head hesitantly, "I don't know how…" Link rolled his eyes and grabbed Zelda on her shoulders.

"Zelda, I know you can do it! Just try." His boyish eyes portrayed the urgency written on his face. She nodded solemnly, "Ok…I'll, try." She walked over to where Malon was laying and held her hands over her small form until a small glow started to appear in her hands. The light slowly leapt from her hands and started to cover Malon's body until the light started to fade and Malon stopped quivering.

"MALON!"

Both children turned to see Talon standing in the doorway and staring at his daughter lying on the floor. He rushed up to her and scooped her up in his arms.

"Malon, are you alright? Please say something…" He stared down at his daughters still form as tears started to trickle down his face. For several seconds nothing happened and even Link started to think the worst had happened when Malon opened her eyes slowly and began to cough.

"Malon, oh thank the goddesses you are alright." Talon wept as he held his daughter in his arms weeping openly.

"Link…" Malon whispered as Talon continued to hold her tightly.

"Yeah."

"I heard everything that Ganondorf said, about how he killed you before and could do it again. What did he mean?"

Link looked around nervously, knowing that he did not want to discuss this topic with anyone, especially right now after everything that had happened.

"It would be a good idea to tell her Link." Impa said as she came up behind the small group, carrying the limp forms of Ganondorf's two guards under her arms. "She is your friend after all and I think Zelda needs to know as well." She nodded to the group then turned and started to walk away.

"I'll be at my quarters with these two if you need any further explanations!" she yelled as she walked out of the room.

Zelda looked at Impa's retreating form then to Link confusion showing on her face as guards began to file into the room finally; surrounded the still form of Ganondorf then starting to drag him very unceremoniously across the hall.

"What do we need to know Link?" She asked inquisitively. Link looked from her to Malon who was giving him a confused look, then at Talon who was now completely befuddled. Link sighed then threw his hands in the air.

"Well, it all began several days ago when…"

* * *

**Cimar: Well, I am really glad that chapter is over, I hate writing sad stories...**

**Sheik: I for one don't care about the sadness. You wrote that Ganondorf's guards were sheikah...Sheikah hate Gerudos...**

**Cimar: Um, yeah...hehehe...Just read the next chapter to find out the reasoning behind that... Please, put your chain away. Shiek!! (runs away)**

**Sheik: Where did he go to now...**

**Cimar: (whispers while hiding in a tree) Please leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter! Oh and the inserted character (you know who you are) your rolls in the next chapter will be much more awesome! I promise!**


	6. Chapter 5: All Good Things

**Cimar: Ok, for everyone reading this so far, thanks for the reviews. They have helped out a lot in creating ideas for this story. Also, thanks to HimmelsDraculina for allowing me to use her characters in this story. **

**Sheik: Although I am still not in this chapter...**

**Cimar: Just hold your horses, you will be back in the story soon, just wait...**

**Sheik: ...**

**Cimar: Ok, everyone, read on, review and enjoy! **

* * *

Chapter 5: All Good Things… 

"So that is what has happened in the past week." Link paused as the finality of his long story came to an end. Both Malon and Zelda were stunned by the news and what Link had told them. Zelda had been especially taken aback when he had told them that the original Link had been killed by Ganondorf and Malon looked to be on the verge of tears when she realized that her friend Link was no more.

"I'm sorry if this is sad for you, I know that it was your Link that you were friends with and not me…" He hung his head and got off the chair he was sitting on and pushed it back to the wall where he had gotten it. Link looked around the study where they were meeting remembering that it was in this same room not several hours before that Impa had given him instructions and told him about Ganondorf. However, his gaze fell upon the two young girls his same age who were sitting mournfully next to each other.

"I'll leave you two alone for a little while, I need to think about what I am going to do. I wish…" he sighed as he opened the door. "I wish I didn't have to tell you all that…"

"Link," Zelda interjected. He looked at her, her pain etched into her eyes. "Thank you for telling us. I…I know it was hard for you, but, it wasn't your fault, none of this was. If it was anyone's it is mine. I sent Link out and it is my responsibility for what has happened to you and to…him…" A tiny tear formed in her eye and she wiped it away quickly, sniffing softly. Malon leaned over and wrapped her arms around Zelda.

"It's not your fault Zelda…None of this is anyone's fault. It just…happened."

"That is exactly correct Malon, this has not been any of our faults."

The three children looked towards the opened door and saw Impa standing there, however she was not alone. She smiled as they began to recognize the two people standing next to her.

"Ahh, I see that you want to meet the two, former guards of Ganondorf. Zelda, Link, Malon…meet Himmels the white sheikah and Draculina the black sheikah." She moved out of the way to reveal two women standing in traditional sheikan bodysuits, one a white color, while the other was a perfect black.

"I believe that our initial meeting was, lets just say, not our best moment" said Himmels who they could tell was smiling underneath the cowl she was wearing.

"Our best moment?" Draculina laughed. "If it was our best moment, none of you would be here since we would have beaten you all with both arms behind our backs." Himmels chocked down a laugh while Link noticed that Impa was smirking just a bit.

"Impa why are you smiling," Link asked, "You were the one who was fighting them, you could have beaten them."

"No," Impa responded, her smile broadening, "I wouldn't. In fact I really don't know a single person who could." Link's jaw dropped while a look of concern crossed Zelda and Malon's faces.

"How would you know that Impa?" The sheikah smiled.

"It might be because I trained them."

If Link's jaw could drop any more, it would have hit the floor.

"YOU TRAINED THEM?! And they served Ganondorf?!"  
"We did not serve Ganondorf!" Draculina yelled as her eyes flickered dangerously. "We were minding our own business when his witches attacked us. While we were busy with them, he snuck up behind us and cast a mind control spell on us."

"We would never serve that disgusting man for any reason." Himmels interjected. "Both of us would have rather died than have served him and especially for attacking another sheikah, particularly when it was our own teacher." Himmels narrowed her eyes and for the first time Link thought he saw a hint of anger on her face but then within an instant, the anger was gone and she was back to what Link guesses was her normal perky self.

"By the way," Link said, "where is Ganondorf right now?" He turned to Impa as if she knew the answer to his question. She did.

"He is in the dungeons under guard."

"How many guards?"

"Enough."

Link thought for a moment. "I want to go see him."

"Why?" Malon asked. "I mean, if he is under guard, nothing should happen right?"

"I still want to see him…"_ The real reason being I can't trust those guards to guard him by themselves._

Impa nodded, "Alright then, take Himmels and Draculina with you. I'll stay up here with Zelda and Malon and tell them about some new security procedures that we will have to institute at the castle now. Basically, Zelda, Malon" she turned to the two young girls standing near Link, "You both will have to have guards wherever you go."

Link turned from heading out the door and looked over at Impa uneasily "Why does Malon have to have guards?"

"Because she attacked Ganondorf while you were knocked out. She stabbed him in the leg with a knife."

_She did what?_ Link looked over at Malon who was fidgeting nervously. "Why? He wasn't coming after you?"

Malon laughed uneasily, "Well, he attacked you and was going to attack Zelda…I couldn't let him do that to my friends." Link was stunned. _Not even the guards have that kind of courage…_He looked over at Malon who had a small smile crossing her face, which was started to turn a slight rose color.

"I have to thank you then, Malon. You probably did more to defeat him than I did." At that, Link noticed she started to blush even further. He laughed inwardly.

"Ok, I'm off to go see the man that the heroic Malon defeated single-handedly" he said as he started walking out of the room. If he had turned back, he would have seen that Malon's face turned about the same color as her vivid red hair.

Impa watched Link head down the hall with Himmels and Draculina behind him and waited until he was out of hearing distance and sight before shaking her head.

"Boys, they don't know when to quit being morons…"

* * *

The threesome made their way quickly down to the dungeons, trying to avoid anyone on the way down since everybody seemed to want to congratulate Link on his victory over Ganondorf and how he saved the princess and all of Hyrule. After several stops with such people, Link had Draculina walk in front of him. From then on they had no problems and no delays in reaching the dungeons. 

Link had a quesy feeling in his stomach and was not really sure why as they opened the last door to the staircase that led to the dungeons. A blast of cold air greeted them as they opened the door and started down the staircase into the darkness of the dungeons.

_Where are the guards that Impa talked about…?_ He thought as they continued their spiral descent. Draculina who was still in front stopped suddenly and Link almost ran into her.

"Something isn't right…we should have seen or heard a guard by now. They aren't the noisiest of people but usually they aren't this quiet…"

_I was wondering that same thing…_ Link focused on listening for any sound but only heard the quiet drops of water that sometimes fell onto the moldy floor.

"Draculina," he whispered just loud enough for the sheikah to hear him. "Let me go ahead and see what is happening. I have a bad feeling about this." The shiekah nodded apprehensively about the young boys decision yet allowed him to pass her. He silently made his way down to the end of the stairwell, making as little noise as possible while Draculina and Himmels followed right behind him. The dim light in the dungeons did not help him at all when they finally exited the stairwell.

_Great, how can I figure out what is going on if I can't see anything._

"I can't see a thing down here, it's too dark."

"That is a good thing Link," replied Draculina, almost without feeling. "If I was as young as you I would not want to see what is down here anyways." He turned to the sheikah, the only visible part of her being her white cowl covering her face and her piercing red eyes.

"How can you tell what is down here when I can't see a thing?"

"I'm from the tribe of black shiekahs. Each sheikah tribe has abilities matching which tribe they are in. My tribe excels in the darkness. I can see perfectly in the dark as well as sense fear around me."

"Maybe you should go ahead then…" Link suggested. "Himmels and I can stay back here and wait for your signal to move forward. In an instant, Draculina was gone; her already shadowy form disappearing into the darkness in front of them. Seconds past, then minutes…after five minutes of waiting, Link was starting to become concerned.

"Should we go after her?" he asked Himmels who seemed oblivious to his concern. She chuckled softly, her light voice seeming to spread a small glow around her.

"Not really. My sister can handle anything that comes her way. If there was some danger ahead, she would have dealt with it instantly and without hesitation." Just her cheerful attitude seemed to lighten Link's concern.

_What is it about happy people that make your worry just disappear. It's like its contagious or some…_

"We need to go now!" Link jumped backwards and drew his sword as Draculina suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Man, you scared me there. Where did you come from?" Link questioned as he put his sword back in its sheath.

"I'll explain on the way but right now we need to leave. Ganondorf has escaped." Her voice alone told Link all he needed to know.

"Alright, let's go."

They sprinted up the stairs following Draculina and darted through the halls of the castle, running for the entrance.

"What happened? What did you find out?" Link said in between breaths as they sprinted towards the main entrance of the castle.

"I found all of the guards dead except for one who was barely alive when I arrived. He told me that Ganondorf had escaped and had slaughtered them all before leaving the castle through the dungeons hidden back entrance." A door opened in front of them and three figures started through the doorframe.

"Impa! Ganondorf has escaped, warn the guards!"

He didn't wait for a reaction as he sprinted past Zelda, Malon and Impa and sped out the door that they had just came out of, closely followed by Himmels and Draculina.

Making their way out into the courtyard and into the morning's sun they stopped at the edge of the drawbridge and eyed their surroundings.

_Has it been that long since everything has happened…?_ They stopped at the edge of the courtyard and started searching for where Ganondorf could have gone.

"I see him."

Link turned to where Himmels was pointing and saw a small figure darting down the path into castle town, a good half mile ahead of them.

"Great," Draculina moaned, "We'd have to have a miracle to catch him now…and I so wanted to repay him for his kindness to us.

Link eyed the small figure running past the gate and into castle town and had an idea pop into his head.

_This had better work or else he's as good as gone…_ He pulled the small ocarina out of his pocket that Saria had given him so long ago.

"Himmels, Draculina, meet me in the town. I'll delay Ganondorf long enough for you to get there."

The two sheikah stared at him as he put the instrument to his mouth and started to play a slow, deep tune. He felt a familiar magic start to fill his body as he finished the song.

_Good it worked!_ "Meet me in town! I'll stop him so you can have fun with him."

Draculina laughed as Link disappeared and turned to her sister. "Well sister, you heard the boy, let's go have some…fun…with our old friend…" Himmels eyes twinkled in the sun.

"I agree." Together they sprinted towards the town below, each with a smile that even Ganondorf would have feared.

* * *

Link felt the marble floor below him and started to run even before completely landing on the stone floor. He burst throughthe large double doors of the Temple of Time and quickly viewed his surroundings, finding the one thing he was looking for and started sprinting towards it. 

"_Almost there…" _Ganondorf muttered under his breath as he passed by the large fountain in the middle of castle town. The entire town was empty since the morning sun was still barely climbing above the eastern mountains. It also helped that it was the day after the town's celebration of the treaty being signed and nobody had yet heard his treachery. He started to slow down as the pain in his leg started up again after all of the running he had just done.

His sprint slowed to a job, then to a fast walk. The only obstacle in his way now was the drawbridge and he was certain that the guards there wouldn't pose any type of a problem to him.

"Ganondorf!"

The king of the Gerudo froze in place as he heard his name being called. He turned his head and saw the bane of his existence running towards him.

"Well, Link, isn't this, such a wonderful surprise. I was hoping that you would have come to see my exit from this horrid place."

"You aren't leaving this town at all Ganondorf." Link said as he skidded to a stop twenty feet away from Ganondorf.

"My, aren't you so sure of yourself little brat. I guess you still do not realize who you are up against."

"Yeah, I know who I'm against. A guy who I have already beaten once before."

Ganondorf chuckled wickedly. "You forget that I have done the same thing to you as well. I am still not sure how you survived since I made sure I had killed you."

"I guess you were mistaken then, weren't you" Link retorted, withdrawing his sword as he got into a fighting position. Ganondorf smiled and raised his hands in the air.

"Ohh well, I guess you just love pain. Very well then…" he said as he turned his back to Link. "May you wallow in it!"

At that moment, the drawbridge to Castle Town exploded into thousands of splinters as two cackling witches flew through the demolished gate, followed by several dinofos, armored reptiles with large axes on their tails.

"I hope that you will enjoy this experience Link…" Ganondorf said as his minions closed around him. He turned and faced the small boy who now was standing in a more defensive position and was nervously switching between watching the two witches circling above him, the half dozen dinofos or Ganondorf, who was smiling wickedly. Ganondorf turned to the nearest dinofos which was snarling viciously and smirked.

"Kill the boy and have fun doing it."

The reptile screeched in delight and ran forward, its eyes glistening with the joy of battle and blood. Link waited until it came straight towards him and then as it raised its ax, he jumped between the creatures legs as the ax came crashing down, smashing into the cobblestone road right where Link was. Link turned and grabbed onto the back of the beast and jumped up to its head as it started to turn around and plunged his sword into the creatures open mouth. The dinofos froze as Link fell to the ground and rolled to safety as the dinofos fell to the ground dead, blood oozing from its mouth. Link turned to face the next creature that Ganondorf was to set against him, however he turned too late.

A blast of frozen air smashed into him with such force that it almost knocked him backwards as the sound of cackling filled the air. He looked down in horror as he found his feet frozen to the ground. Link tried to free his feet but the ice was too thick for him to break through.

"Looks like he needs another dose Koume."

"Sounds like fun Kotake." The witch with the blue hair grinned and shot another beam of ice straight at Link who was trying furiously to break free of his icy prison.

The blast hit him square in the chest and knocked the breath out of him. The ice crept over his body until only his head was above the block of ice that surrounded him. Ganondorf laughed maniacally as he approached the now completely frozen Link.

"It appears that the tables have turned boy." Ganondorf walked slowly around the block of ice that contained Link, who was now shivering from the ice covering his body. He leaned down straight into Links face, his head inches away from Link's.

"I am going to savor your death this time. In fact, I think I will leave you here as a reminder to all that oppose me in the future…" Ganondorf stepped back and unsheathed his sword, holding it out in front of him, inches from Link's neck.

"I always thought that they needed a statue in this town, although I don't think they will be expecting a headless one." He raised the sword above his head and smiled wickedly.

"Goodbye Link. Remember, this time…stay dead!" He swung his sword downwards straight at the boys head as he looked on in horror.

_This can't be happening…_ Link closed his eyes as the sword came at his head and braced for his death. He felt the sting of the sword as it connected with his right cheek, and then suddenly felt the sword brush inches away from his face as he heard a soft thud from in front of him. He held in the scream that was trying to escape from his lungs as the pain from his wound filled his mind and body while he heard several more thuds and the screams of dinofos around him. He opened his eyes and saw two blurs dashing in between the monsters, who were screaming in pain, then would fall dead to the ground. In front of him, Ganondorf was pulling a small knife out of his shoulder and eyeing it in disbelief.

_They finally arrived…it's about time they came…_

The two shiekah dashed in between their enemies, slicing and hacking with their blades before moving onto their next victim. Ganondorf watched as his minions fell dead around him and yelled up to the witches circling above him who were trying to hit the two sheikah with their ice and fire attacks.

"Koume! Kotake! We're leaving now!" The two witches nodded then flew down on their brooms next to Ganondorf, who jumped on behind Koume as they flew into the air.

"THIS WON'T BE THE LAST OF ME! I WILL RETURN TO KILL YOU LINK!"

Link watched as he flew off and disappeared over the wall and across into Hyrule Field.

"I thought you said you would hold him off and we instead find you frozen in ice…" Link saw Himmels land next to him and saw Draculina finish off the last of the dinofos, then turn towards Link.

"Hold still Link" Draculina said as she reached into a pouch on her belt. "We can get this ice off of you and then Himmels here can patch up that cut on your face." Draculina sprinkled the powder onto the ice and Link could feel the warmth of the powder as it melted the ice holding him hostage. As soon as his legs were free he collapsed onto the ground, shivering from both the cold and the pain. He felt the cut on his face from Ganondorf's sword and flinched when he felt exactly how deep it was.

"Let's get that fixed up now shall we?" Himmels said in her normal cheerful voice. She put her hand up to Link's face right above the gash which extended from his jaw to his ear.

"This might hurt a little so…" A soft glow appeared in her hand and Link felt a stinging sensation pulse throughout his head. He grimaced in pain for a moment before the pain started to subside and Link could feel the bleeding stop. He reached up and felt along the gash and felt a large, deep scar running up and down his right side of his face.

"Looks like you have quite the trophy there." Himmels joked as she helped Link to stand.

"At least you still have a head. You're lucky we got here in time. One more second and you would have been dead." Draculina interjected.

"Thanks." He eyed the spot where Ganondorf had disappeared into the horizon as the sun finally rose above the eastern hills.

_I will find you Ganondorf…I will find you, and you will suffer for all you have done. I will find you…and you will wish you had never been born…_

_

* * *

_

**Cimar: Well, the last part of this was kind of scattered so I hope you all got the last battle scene. Just review to tell me what to fix to make it more understandable.**

**Sheik: He needs the help, trust me.**

**Cimar: ...**

**Sheik: At least the next chapter will be better. Another reviewer will be inserted as a character in chapter 6 so be warned. Also, I will be in there so...**

** Cimar: I KNOW! (starts scribbling chapter 6) ... Hope you enjoyed so far. Chapter 6 will be coming soon, so look forward to a lot of internal character conflict! **


	7. Chapter 6: Come to an End

**Cimar: Thanks for all the reviews! This story now has 11 more reviews than my previous one! Everyone, please keep it up since I am getting such awesome feedback about the story and who knows, you might just become a character in the story! **

**Sheik: Speaking of which, the reviewer who is in this chapter is...Guntou!**

**Cimar: Well, everyone read and enjoy!**

**Sheik: If its about me I might even show up and thank you...**

**Cimar: You can do that?**

**Sheik: I have my ways...**

**Cimar: ...creepy... anyways enjoy.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 6: ...Come to an End**

Hyrule Field was always beautiful to her. Its open expanse filled the center of Hyrule: nestled in between the desolate Eastern Mountains and the barren Gerudo Desert on the West, it was a little patch of bliss which may have been the reasoning why the first Hylians settled there in the first place. The field rolled on for miles in all directions, its rolling hills decorated with small patches of flowers or small streams trickling ever so slowly down towards Lake Hylia. The field's only major point of interest, besides its natural beauty was situated in the exact center of the field, where a large u-shaped outcropping of rock hid a small ranch that had been there for generations and generations. The landscape must have been the reason why she was so much at peace at this moment.

Malon smiled as she gazed upon the wide expanse and the beauty that surrounded her. She had been sitting underneath one of the few trees near her home, just outside the entrance and had been lazily passing away the day. Getting the day off from work only came once a year for her and she wanted to take in the most of it.

Closing her eyes, she twisted her body a little to find a more comfortable position leaning against the tree. She closed her eyes and let the quiet songs of the birds fluttering over the wind caress her mind.

_Such a beautiful day and not a care in the world…_

Out of habit, she started humming a song her mother had taught her when she was young, a soft soothing melody that she loved so much. The notes echoed across the valley and nearby she could hear a horse whiny, and then slowly trot towards her, nuzzling her gently.

"Shasta, what are you up to now?" she said as she playfully rubbed her horses muzzle. The horse whinnied and shook its head towards the castle, almost as if it was pointing towards the large marble edifice.

"You think we should go now?" Shasta nodded her head.

"Are you sure?" The horse snorted and again turned towards the castle. Malon laughed, "Alright, alright I get your point," she said, pushing herself off of the grass then dusting herself off as well as pulling her long, red hair back from across her face. She grabbed the saddle horn and lifted her foot into the stirrup before pulling herself up and over the horse, positioning herself until she was comfortable in the saddle. Malon leaned down and whispered into her Shasta's ear.

"Want to go see Link and Epona?" Shasta's ears turned forward and she gave a tiny leap before she started galloping off across Hyrule Field. Malon smiled as she felt the wind whipping against her and felt the speed and thrill of the ride as she rode across the field, her mind wandering across the special day that today was.

_I wonder what Link is planning at the castle that he asked me to come He knows that today is my birthday…maybe he is planning something special…_ Her heart started to swell as she thought of Link giving her some special gift that she would absolutely love.

_Then again…he might have forgotten about today altogether...he has been busy a lot lately._

It was true too. Link had been busy the past six years since she had first met him. She could still remember that day when everything started for her and she first saw just how great of a friend he was.

After he had raced off with Himmels and Draculina after they found Ganondorf missing, Impa had assembled a crack team of guards that she herself had trained and started out after him, that is until she ran into Zelda and herself. With the help of Zelda, or more apt to put it, the demands of Zelda, she had been able to come with Impa down to follow after Link. They had made their way just past the Temple of Time when they found Link being helped along by the two sheikah, his face covered in dry blood and a large scar crossing the right side of his face.

His initial appearance shocked Malon. Just minutes before he had been this eccentric but lovable young boy and the next, he was a tired and wearied from battle with the scars to prove it. Then, as soon as he had seen Malon, he had instantly cheered up and tried to help her out, that is until he fainted from his wounds and fatigue. It had taken some time for her to come to terms with how much he had gone through and especially with the deep scar that crossed his otherwise perfect face.

_Luckily that is the only thing that is wrong with him…_she thought as she rode across the field and started to approach the drawbridge into Castle Town.

Of course after his battles with Ganondorf had made him quite the celebrity in town, and with the king himself. Harkinian had Link appointed to Zelda's personal bodyguard after what he had done to save his daughter that night, as well as his kingdom. Being a personal bodyguard to Zelda was not, however, what he had wanted but he accepted the job anyways. Whenever he could, he would ride out to the ranch and hang out with her until his job called him back to the castle. He never really seemed to want to go back and had told her that he always loved being out in the country rather than being cooped up in a castle all day long. She treasured those moments with him throughout the past years and was hoping that someday he could come back and stay…

She pondered the memories of that event so long ago, envisioning everything that had happened up until Ganondorf had almost killed her. She shook the thoughts out of her head and started to slow Shasta down to a trot as she crossed the drawbridge into Castle Town. The market was flourishing now that Ganondorf had not been seen for the past six years and now, foreigners were more eager to trade in the kingdom of Hyrule. Traders were flooding the city with goods from all sorts of markets from around the world; from the port town of Minato came all sorts of items from the great western ocean and from the land of Termina had come all varieties of different gadgets, clocks and new scientific instruments. Even the Gerudo, who now were under the leadership of a young thief named Nabooru were started to appear more and more often in Castle Town. Everyone was thriving and it had all been because of him.

He had driven away the great evil of Ganondorf. He had destroyed every single threat that had followed with relative ease, even though he was still considered a lad to most people at the age of 17. He was also her closest friends besides Zelda and one of the few people she could really trust.

She made her way past the market and rode slowly past the Temple of Time, a majestic building that soared above the rest of Castle Town, only the castle was taller than its spires.

_The place where this all started…the place where we began…_

Malon led Shasta through the winding gorge that led to the castle and saluted the guards as she passed the first gate.

_That's another thing that he has helped me out with…no more guards following me around anymore._ She silently laughed as the guards waved her on and raised the gate for her. _I'm so glad that he had Impa stop that nonsense, especially since Link was basically living at my home so what use could the guards be?_

She past by a large field as the path rose towards the castle, that at one point had been empty, but now it had been remade into a training ground for the army of Hyrule, as well as one of Link's favorite places to be.

"Well I can't see him, can you?" Malon muttered as she scanned the field in the hope of spotting a green clad figure among the many guards training across the field.

"Looking for someone?"

Malon jumped in her saddle and turned around to see a young man dressed in a guards uniform and holding two large, curved swords and holding a grin just as large.

"Guntou you scared me there for a moment…"

"Sorry about that…" Guntou said as he chuckled a light airy laugh. Guntou was one of Malon's close friends at the castle ever since she had found him staggering towards the castle with several large wounds covering his body three years earlier. Nobody had known who he was or what he was doing and neither did he. Link saw something in him and took him as an apprentice of sorts, which didn't bother anyone too much.

"I didn't mean to scare you, sorry about that Malon."

"It's alright…say, have you seen Link around by chance?" She asked as she glanced down at the young guard in training.

He scratched his head, "Can't say that I have, usually if I do I ask him to practice with me but so far I haven't seen him at all." He looked around the field again, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. "Is that him over near Himmels and Draculina?"

Malon stood up in the stirrups to get a better view of where Guntou was pointing. She saw the two sheikah training some of the guards in offensive tactics, or more likely in the case of the guards, how to deal with pain.

"No…he's not over there. Thanks for your help though Guntou."

"No problem." He replied cheerfully. "I have to get back to training, I haven't beaten Link yet so that just means I need to practice some more," he said smiling.

"Good luck with that," Malon said as he bounded off back towards the practice field in the direction of the sheikah which by now had beaten each of the guards to the ground and appeared to be laughing.

_He's going to need luck if that is his goal…_she thought as she started Shasta back up the path towards the stables. _I mean, he is good an all, but, compared to Link, he has a long way to go._ Guntou was an exceptional fighter that was for sure. At every contest that involved swords he would always rank second when Link was participating or first when he was not. _Maybe someday he might get lucky…_

Malon approached the stables and stopped Shasta, then jumped off the horse and started to lead it into the barn. The stables were lined on both sides by rows and rows of horses and stalls, enough room for almost two hundred horses. It wasn't hard to find an empty stall since Link had reserved a place for her, right next to his horses stall for Epona. She led Shasta into the stall and patted her on the snout as she closed the door when she noticed something wrong in the stall next to hers.

_Epona's not here, I wonder why...I wonder if Link is even here if Epona isn't in her stall…?_

"If you're looking for Epona, you have to check outside, I let her out earlier so she could roam instead of being cooped up in here."

Malon turned around and saw a figure leaning against the doorframe of the stables, his arms crossed and a large smile etched across his face. Link pushed himself off of the doorframe and started towards Malon.

"I'm glad that you got my note. I would have delivered it myself but I have been kind of busy with certain preparations at the castle that is all secret you know." He smiled and quickly gave Malon a hug when he finally reached her.

"It's good to see you again. I haven't been able to get out to the ranch in a long time," he whispered into her ear before he slowly pulled away from their embrace.

"I thought that you had stopped caring about your old home," she replied, faking a frown and sniffing a little before breaking out into laughter. Link joined in as they started out towards the stables entrance and back into the sun.

"So...what have you been up to lately?" Malon inquired as the two walked next to each other down the path towards the castle.

"Not much really, just saving people, defeating monsters...meeting wonderful young women who live on ranches..." he said grinning slyly. Malon smiled back.

"Oh really?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I thought that ranch girls were horrible people."

Link shook his head, "Not this one...this one is the exact opposite. She's a lot better than anyone else I know." Malon burst out laughing while Link started to chuckle. They walked through the castle gates and into an empty hall, walking leisurely through the castle's corridors.

"So why don't you tell me why I received this note in the mail? I assume you have something for me?" She eyed him carefully to see if his face would reveal any secrets or shock. He merely shrugged. "I just wanted to see you today. I haven't seen you in a while." _Not entirely true, but you will see in a moment the real reason why I wanted for you to come here._

Malon looked at him quizzically as Link seemed to become distracted by something.

"Link? Anything else you wanted to tell me?" Link was awakened out of his thoughts and chuckled.

"Oh, your see in a moment…" he replied as he again dropped into thought. They continued through the halls until they came to a large set of double doors, where Link stopped and grabbed the handles, then turned to Malon.

"Actually…" he said as he started to open the doors, "this is why I asked for you to come."

Opening the doors wide, Link revealed to Malon a large garden area with all sorts of flowers, shrubs and statues of all kinds…as well as another big surprise.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MALON!"

Malon stood in shock as a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday greeted her. Inside the garden was almost every single person that she had met. She noticed that Darunia and his little son Link stood off to one side of the garden, little Link waving happily at her and trying his best to sing along. On the opposite side stood Princess Ruto and a male Zora that she didn't recognize, as well as several other zora's whose voices cascaded along with the music, creating an almost enchanting melody. In the middle of the group was Zelda and her father, King Harkinian as well as Impa, who for once looked a little bit happy.

And in the center of the group on a large table sat a cake, just as big as the entire table, which seemed to lag under the weight.

Link walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Happy 16th Birthday Malon."

Malon's face by the end of the song was a beat red and stayed that way as she was asked to blow out the candles.

"Make a wish Malon," Zelda said as she smiled at her friend.

"Yeah, you never know, it could come true." Ruto added as she leaned over and put her arm around the male zora next to her. "At least my last birthday wish did." The male zora smiled down at her." Malon smiled as she remembered Ruto telling her about her new boyfriend Mikal.

Malon closed her eyes and began to think about what she would want to wish for when an idea popped into her mind.

_I think I know what I want to wish for…_ She drew in a deep breath, then blew and then in one large breath, blew out all the candles in a single try.

After the cake had been cut, people began to drift off into different groups, some congratulating Malon or wishing her a happy birthday until most everyone was in their groups. She sat down on a nearby bench and breathed in deeply.

_Who would have known that a birthday could be so tiring…_ she thought as she watched the different groups of people chatting idly and every now and then looking over to smile or wave at her. Zelda had talked with her for a half hour before she had to leave to attend to her duties as Princess.

"Hey Malon" She turned as she heard her name called and saw Link approaching her.

"Hey Link" she replied a little tired after greeting so many people and being the center of attention for the past hour. He looked at her oddly as he heard the tiredness in her voice.

"Here, come with me for a moment. I think I have something that will cheer you up." He offered his hand to help her up. They walked almost unnoticed down a path away from the hustle and bustle of the main party and through the hedges and flower bushes until they found a secluded spot where not even the sounds of the party could be heard.

"Good to be away from all that noise huh?" Link said as they sat down on an unused bench directly across from a patch of roses. Malon nodded groggily.

"Yeah, it's almost like to much of a good thing…" she muttered as she held her head in her hands. _Why do I have to get a headache right now…?_

"Are you feeling alright Mal?" Link asked as he noticed her rubbing her head.

"Not really…" she said, looking up at Link who had a concern look on his face. Link thought for a moment then reached into his pocket.

"Here, this should help" he said, handing her a bottle with blue liquid inside. She gratefully grabbed the bottle and uncorked it. Putting it to her lips, she slowly drained the bottle, feeling almost instantly better.

"Thanks," she said, handing the empty bottle back to Link, who took it and put it back into his pocket. She felt her headache disappear completely as the blue potion took its affect. They sat in silence for several moments as they simply watched the bees buzzing back and forth near the rose bush and heard the birds chirping merrily around them. It was a very peaceful feeling.

"So," Malon said as she turned towards Link, "Do you come here often?" He smiled still watching a small bird that had landed nearby and was poking at the ground with its beak.

"Yeah, whenever I can get away from my job I come here. It's really the only peaceful place I can find except for back at the ranch. It just reminds me of…home…" he sighed, smiling softly and chuckled. "At least I mean the only home I know of back at the ranch" he said reminiscing the time that he had spent at the ranch working with Malon and Talon…more so Malon since her father was asleep most of the time.

"So, you liked being with my dad and I?" she asked. _Please say yes…please say yes…_

Link thought for a moment, then slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, I think that has been my favorite time I have spent here." He waved his hand at the castle around him. "I mean, being at the castle is nice and all, but…it is just not the same as living in the country, you know." Link looked over to Malon and smiled. "Also the company wasn't too bad either."

Malon returned Links gaze and they looked at each other for some time before Link started slowly moving his head closer to Malon, who started doing the same thing.

"So, I guess you two have become closer than I thought." Malon and Link jumped as they moved away from each other, each looking for who had interrupted them. Link was the first to spot the guest who was sitting up on top of a lattice, his leg dangling off of the top, lazily moving back and forth.

"Sheik? What are you doing here?" Link asked, wondering why Sheik had again appeared in this realm. "I thought you said you could only come back here in case of emergencies because of the energy use it demanded?"

Sheik eyed Link lazily with his red eyes and seemed to be smiling beneath his cowl.

"Yes, that is true; however, with my appearance it would seem that an emergency is taking place then isn't it." Sheik pushed himself up and leapt to the ground and walked towards Link.

"I believe that you are looking for Ganondorf, correct?" Link was startled.

"How did you know if you haven't come back since that first visit?" Link asked, slightly confused.

"Do you think I only have come here once? What kind of friend would I be if I did only that? Besides, I believe that I have found where Ganondorf is hiding out in this realm."

Link's attention was now riveted. "Tell me, where is he." Link demanded the sheikah who noticed a hint of anger in Link's tone.

"There is no need to be angry Link. He is only human and doesn't possess the triforce of power so you have no need to be angry, although he did leave you with a nasty present your last encounter didn't he…"

_Yeah…he did._ Link thought as he reached up and felt the large scar that crossed his face. "My reasons for finding him is not for repaying his favor to me, it is to rid this world of his presence so he can never get the triforce or harm anyone else." Sheik shrugged his shoulders. "Very well. You will then want to start gathering your gear. Ganondorf is hiding out in a large temple to the north of Hyrule in a land called Temina.. The temple itself is hidden in a deep valley called Ikana Canyon." Link took in the information and noted it in the back of his mind.

"Thank you Sheik." He reached out and touched the shiekah's shoulder. "You have been a great asset to this world." Sheik nodded and stepped back a few steps.

"I have to go now… I might have become accustomed to teleporting throughout realms but I still can not stay for long and I must get back to my realm." Sheik nodded towards Malon, "I do not want to take away from any more time you will have with Link before he leaves on this journey. I believe you need some…alone time." Malon blushed bright red as Sheik withdrew a small deku nut from his pocket.

"Hey Sheik!" Link yelled as the sheikah turned to look at him. "Say hello to Zelda for me." Sheik laughed.

"I believe you already did" he said as he dropped the deku nut to the ground and vanished in a flash of light and a loud bang.

After Sheik vanished, Link turned to Malon who stared back up at him. She knew what he was going to say and he knew what her reaction would be.

"I'm sorry I have to go, but I promise I will be back shortly." He said, as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"How long will it take? I mean, can't someone else go with you? Guntou could probably go along; he is pretty good with his two swords." Link shook his head. "I don't want to involve anyone else with this who could get injured. That is not what I want to happen. I'll go and defeat Ganondorf, then return within two weeks, no problem…" he said smiling softly at her. His scar seemed to stand out more to her now than it had in ages, whether it was her worry or something else.

"Please Link…" she said as she felt a tear come to her eye. "Be careful…" Link gazed down at her then in a quick motion, leaned down and kissed her on the lips for several seconds before pulling away.

"I will be careful…I want to be able to return to Hyrule but I want to be able to return to you." He slowly took his hand off of her shoulder and started to walk down the path slowly, taking one last look at Malon before disappearing around a hedge.

Malon felt her knees beginning to buckle and sat quickly down on the bench as the tears started to well up in her eyes.

_So much for my birthday wish…_

_

* * *

_**Cimar: Hope you all enjoyed that chapter, I know it was fun to write. It is good to begin writing a Malon/Link story. It just feels better. Hope Zelda doesn't get mad...**

**Zelda: Well I wonder why I wouldn't get mad about anything like that...**

**Sheik: And why was I only in there for that small bit of time? Why wasn't I in for longer?**

**Cimar: Maybe...because...you will be in later chapters for longer periods of time...?**

**Sheik: I better be...**

**Zelda: You better have a good explanation for this...**

**Cimar: ...uh...bye! (flees)**

**Zelda: Sheik, catch him. Also, for everyone out there reading this, next week comes chapter 7 which will include another reviewer as a character so be warned. It might just be you.**


	8. Chapter 7: Finding the Missing Link

**Cimar: I just have two things to say at this point. First, thanks to everyone who have read and reviewed this story. Your help and support are really helping me out at this time in writing and work. Second, a wonderful man of the name of Gordon B Hinckley has passed away recently. I will miss him greatly...**

**Now, everyone, please enjoy this chapter and leave a review so I can know how to improve!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 7: Finding the Missing Link**

Malon poked at another bale of hay and threw it over the small wall separating her from the cows inside the barn. The routine was monotonous to say the least and boring to say little at all. She lifted another pile of hay into the trough for the animals, then brushed away at the sweat that had started to appear on her brow. She glanced out of the open window in the barn and saw as the sun was just starting to set and was starting to disappear over the wall of the ranch.

_Another day again goes by without him or any word…_

She poked the pitchfork into the hale pile and leaned into it, resting a bit and also contemplating what the past month had brought. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

_He hasn't even sent any word at all; I mean, Termina can't be that far away…?_

She sighed as she heard the gentle lowing of the cattle and pulled at the pitchfork and threw another baleful over to the cows. After the trough was completely full, she walked over to the wall of the barn opposite the cows and put the pitchfork back into its holder before she sat down, leaning against the wooden walls for support. As always, her gaze eventually fell down to her hand where a small ring glistened in the last rays of the sun. She felt as tears started to well up in her eyes and her memories of that day came flooding back into her mind.

"_Link, why can't you have someone else go! Just have the king send an army to follow Ganondorf, they can take care of him!" Malon pleaded with Link as he walked Epona out of Castle Town after Sheiks unexpected visit. He sighed deeply, stopped and turned to face Malon, his sparkling blue eyes glistening in the light from the sun._

"_I have to Mal. I just have to…No one else can beat him, nor could they get close to him. If the king sent an army then he would see that coming from miles away. It's best that somebody should go alone to find him…"_

"_Then send somebody else!" Malon responded, her voice rising as her anger and grief began to overcome her. She grabbed Link by his tunic and pulled him. "Guntou can do it! Himmels and Draculina can do it! Send somebody like Impa but please, just don't go like this!" Tears fell from her eyes as she tried to find any clue as to what he was thinking. Link smiled and gently grabbed Malon's hands and pulled them off of his tunic into his._

"_Malon, you know that I can do this. I will be back, you'll see. This shouldn't take any more than two week, tops." Malon was unconvinced and she started to shake her head. Link sighed and let go of Malon's hands and pulled a ring off of his left hand and held it out to Malon. The ring itself did not seem like much, but she could remember that he had carved it himself and had spent days perfecting it._

"_Look, this ring has been mine for almost five years. I wanted to give it to you then but you wouldn't accept it then. I want you to have it." Malon eyed the ring and slowly reached forward and picked it up out of Link's hand._

"_Remember, I want to have it back when I return. Think of it as a promise that is between you and me." Malon looked up at Link who was again smiling at her, however she noticed that a small tear had appeared in his eye._

"_I will hold you to your promise then Link. I will expect you back in two weeks." She replied, trying to smile but feeling it was hollow._

"_Not a day more will pass by…trust me, I won't let it." Link leaned down and kissed Malon on her cheek before he turned and leapt up onto Epona and grabbed the reigns in his hands. He turned back and watched as Malon put the ring onto her finger._

"_Remember, I will be back in two weeks." He said with a grin. Malon nodded and Link gave a heeyah as Epona started to gallop away towards the northwest. Malon stood at the drawbridge until she could no longer see him, then continued to watch the area where he had vanished until the sun set almost an hour later._

_You promised two weeks…why did you lie to me…where have you gone…?_

Malon cried silently as she heard a wolfos starting to howl somewhere off in the forest, announcing the close to the fifth week that Link had been gone. At the two week mark she had watched from the ranch for almost the entire day, waiting for any sign of him, only to end the day empty handed. The next day she again went out to watch for him, yet to the same results. She continued to watch for him for an entire week afterwards until Talon had become concerned over her. The past two weeks she didn't even bother to watch for him.

_He's not coming…he would have been here by now…_

A knock at the barn door startled her as she quickly tried to dry away the tears. She didn't want Talon to come in and find her crying again. He was concerned as is about his daughter's welfare and every day became more and more concerned. She got up and dusted her dress off as the door opened and to her relief and surprise, Zelda poked her head into the barn and smiled when she saw the person she was looking for.

"Malon, ah, there you are. I've been looking all over the ranch for you" she said as she quickly came in and silently shut the door behind her. Zelda walked up to her friend and gave her a quick hug, then noticed the redness around her eyes.

"Mal, have you been crying?" she asked with sincere affection in her voice. Malon slowly nodded as she sat back down on a hay bale behind her as Zelda followed suit.

"It's about him…isn't it…"  
Malon again nodded, sniffing softly as Zelda gave her another hug.

"Well, I have an idea that could cheer you up some then." Malon turned her head towards Zelda who had a small smile on her face.

"What's your idea then," Malon said glumly as she propped her head up to listen to whatever she had to say. "It's not like it will bring him back any sooner."

"That is what is beautiful about this idea. We don't wait for him to come back. We go to him."

Malon sat up. _Wait…what?_ "Are you suggesting we go out to Termina and find Link, even though we have no clue where he could be or where Termina is?"

Zelda laughed, "Yes to the first and as to your second thought," Zelda reached into a bag that she had at her waist and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper and unfolded it, revealing a mini map of Termina…which was directly northwest of Hyrule.

"How did you get this map?" Malon exclaimed as she took the map in her hands and looked over it carefully.

"I found it in Impa's room so I decided to, borrow it for a while."

_I'm sure you asked first of course._ Malon thought to herself although she had to give Zelda credit for stealing from a sheikah, especially one like Impa. _Speaking of Impa…_

"Zelda, how are we going to leave Hyrule without Impa or Talon knowing? I'm sure by now that Impa already knows and by morning Talon will be going mad trying to find me." Malon stared at Zelda who again laughed softly at her friends worries.

"Not to worry Mal, I have everything worked out. We have some friends that will be helping us out in those cases. We're set…all I need is for you to accompany me on this journey. So," Zelda asked, leaning towards Malon, "Are you set?"

Malon only had to think for a moment.

"Yes."

The two women walked quietly out of the barn with Zelda in the lead followed by Malon who was leading her horse Shasta outside. They walked softly through the night down the trail to where Zelda left her horse, Selice next to a large tree at the entrance of the ranch.

"So you are sure that everything will be going as planned and that our 'friends' will be helping us out enough?"

"Of course I think that we are capable of helping out two young women like yourselves. Isn't that right Himmels?"

A figure jumped down from inside the branches of the tree to the ground in front of Zelda and Malon, startling Shasta for just a second before Malon was able to calm the horse down. A moment later another figure dropped out of the tree and started walking towards them.

"I believe that is right Draculina," Himmels said as she walked straight up to Malon and gave her a hug.

"Malon, Himmels and Draculina here will be helping us take care of any problems that Impa might have with us leaving tonight. Since they are her students, they should know all the right ways to get her to not come after us."

Draculina laughed, "Yeah, we do know all the ways to keep Impa out of the way, just bring up a certain red sheikah named Tamor and she will close up like a clam."

"Who is Tamor and what happened between him and Impa?" Malon asked.

"You don't want to know," responded Himmels, "You don't want to know."

"We also have another person who will help us out with calming your father Malon," Zelda said as she pointed towards the tree again. Malon focused on the tree and saw the outline of a man standing against it with two swords clearly outlined against the tree itself.

"Don't fret about Talon," Guntou said as he walked from the shadow of the tree's branches to out into the moonlight, revealing his black hair and green eyes to her view. "It will be easy to explain to him what is happening, especially if it involves Link. He cares about that guy like a son so don't worry. I'll take care of any of his fears."

Malon's fears washed away as her friends calmed her doubts about this escapade.

_Well, I guess I don't have anything to worry about after all…_she thought. She closed her eyes and wiped at a tear that started to form as how much her friends cared about making this work out came to her mind.

"Thank you guys for everything."

"Hey, that is what we are for," Guntou said chuckling. "Although there is only one thing you should be worried about that us three can't solve."

Malon turned her attention to Himmels and Draculina who were walking back to the tree. When they came back, Himmels was carrying two short swords while Draculina was carrying two bows with loaded quivers.

"You are going to need these for protection. Outside of Hyrule we can not protect you, nor will we be able to get to you if you are attacked by Ganondorf's minions." Himmels said as she handed a sword to both Malon and Zelda.

"We are hoping that you won't have to use these," Draculina cut in, "However, with both of you on Ganondorf's hit list, as soon as he hears you are heading to Termina, he is bound to have his monsters searching high and low for both of you."

Malon nodded hesitantly. _Is this worth it? Is finding Link really worth going through all this trouble? Is it worth the price we might have to pay and our families as well?_

Guntou noticed Malon's change in manner and walked over to her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Everything will be fine. I know that both of you had to take defense courses and can deal with any threat that he can throw at you." He gave her a hug. "I know that you can find Link. I know what he means to you…" he said as he backed away towards where Himmels was standing.

"Good luck on your journey and I hope that you come back to us soon," Himmels said as Malon and Zelda mounted their horses.

"In one piece hopefully as well," Draculina muttered.

"Thanks again for helping us," Zelda said as she grabbed the reigns, "We will be back hopefully soon. Just keep Impa, father and Talon from becoming too worried, ok?"

Guntou grinned, "No problems, just be careful. Link will want to see you both in one piece as much as you want to see him!"

_You have no idea how true that is Guntou…you have no idea…_

Zelda and Malon kicked their horses and started off at a gallop towards the northwest where a large forest was nestled against the Western hills. Their flight across the prairie was exhilarating to Malon for several reasons.

_I'll be able to see Link once again…and then…I will be able to figure out why he hasn't come back like he promised…_

The pair sped through the opening in the forest and disappeared into its shadowy depths as they started their journey towards the land of Termina.

The three figures were standing near Lon Lon Ranch watching the two dots that were their friends disappear into the forest below.

"Do you think they can make it and find Link?" Guntou asked as he looked over at Himmels. The sheikah smiled underneath her cowl.

"It would take a miracle to find Link, yet somehow I think they can do it…"

"They better." Draculina huffed, "or else we will be in so much trouble with Impa that not even Tamor could save our hides…" Himmels nodded in agreement.

"You are so right sister…"

After a brief moment of silence, Guntou scratched his head.

"So…who exactly is Tamor?" Draculina and Himmels looked at each other and smiled and thought the exact same thing.

_This is going to be fun…

* * *

_

**Cimar: I know it is short, but I needed this as a kind of filler chapter in between two larger chapters. Hope none of you minded at all. Stayed tuned for next Sunday's posting! And don't forget to review!**


	9. Chapter 8: Hard Truths

**Cimar: Thank you everyone! The story now has 1000 hits and 20 reviews! Thanks to all who have contributed to this story and its success. This chapter now has a reviewer inserted into it so look out for Maghni! Everybody enjoy!****

* * *

Chapter 8: Hard Truths**

Link struggled to his feet and made his way towards the object in front of him, stumbling every few steps from his wounds. His right leg had a large gash across it just below the knee where the monsters tentacle like arms had caught him and several large cuts and bruises covered his body. Walking up to the now lifeless mask, he bent down slowly and picked it up, turning it in his hands.

"Why is it that everywhere I go, there is always some evil that I have to beat before I can continue my original purpose?" Link pocketed the mask and walked towards a beam of blue light near him and the magic tugging at his body as he was whisked away from the room, back down to Termina's main square. He landed to the sound of thunderous applause and cheers as he stepped out of the light. Link tried to ignore the crowd as much as possible. He hated it when people were congratulating him and defeating this or that. He was only doing his job and right now he was only searching for one person in particular…

_I should be use to this by now. I mean, back in Hyrule I was always being thanked or praised for this or that. Why can't they just treat me like everyone else?_ He thought as he walked through the crowds of smiling faces, shaking hands with a person here and there. _They seem so happy…why should I try and stop that?_

He finally made it to the outside of the crowd and found the person he was looking for.

"So…" the person said as he smiled at Link, "Have you found my mask?" Link nodded as he pulled the mask out of his pocket and handed it over to the salesman.

"Tell me," Link said as the salesman grabbed the mask out of Links hand, "Why did you bring that mask here anyways if you knew it was evil?"

The salesman grinned, "A customer wanted it… and might I add that he wanted it for a…large…sum of rupees." Links usual countenance turned from his cheerful self to instant anger.

"So you purposely endangered this entire town and everyone in it…just to get some rupees?!" he asked, his voice dangerously low. Several of the nearby townsfolk whispered among themselves and the mood of the crowd started to turn from joy to anger.

"Well…I…" the salesman started before his voice faltered. Link raised an eyebrow. "Did you?"

Several men in the crowd as well as soldiers started moving towards the front of the crowd and Link could see sweat start to fall down the mans face.

_He's going to try something…_

"Well…thanks for all of your help…" the Happy Mask Salesman said as he nervously reached into his pack. "I'll just be, going now!" He produced a small hood with two large bunny ears and attached it to his head.

"Bye now!"

Link leaped forward to apprehend the salesman but caught nothing but air as the salesman started sprinting out of the town, aided by the help of the bunny hood.

"Stop him!" cried the captain of the guard to his men as the guards charged after him, disappearing through the south entrance of the town.

Link started to laugh, knowing that there was no way that they could catch him that way with the bunny hood. His laughter soon turned to a cry of agony as he heard and felt several snaps inside his chest as several ribs snapped that had been fractured during his fight with Majora. He fell to his knees, clutching at his chest, gritting his teeth in pain. A young man with blue hair noticed Link kneeling in pain and ran up to him.

"Are you ok?" Kafi asked, putting a hand on Link's shoulder.

"Yeah" Link gasped out as he tasted blood in his mouth. "I'm fine…" he coughed as a small trickle of blood started to appear along the side of his mouth.

_No I'm not…_ he thought as he wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth and saw the red liquid running down his hand.

"Get me a red potion…" he asked with clenched teeth from the pain. Kafi nodded and yelled over to a man in the crowd who had a goatee.

"Charles! Get a red potion from your shop quickly!" The man nodded and ran towards West Clocktown, reappearing a minute later with a bottle of red potion, as well as several bandages. He uncorked the bottle and handed it to Link who accepted it gratefully. Link felt the liquid as it flowed down his throat and felt it already starting to work in his body. He felt as some of the pain started to ebb away as he handed the bottle back to Charles.

"Thanks. I think I'm better now…" Link said. He pushed himself off of the ground and wobbled slightly before he regained his balance. He took a small step forward, then his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground.

Link woke up several hours later in his room at the Stock Pot Inn, lying on his bed with several people around him including Anju and Kafi, the local doctor and Romani, the local ranch hand who he hade become friends with during his five weeks in Termina. He was told after he awoke that the town was throwing a festival in his honor and for the defeat of Majora, the monster that had threatened them with destruction.

As evening fell, Link gathered up some of his equipment, his gilded sword that he had made at the mountain smithy, his mirror shield that he had recovered from the Spirit Temple and several other pieces of equipment. Lastly, he grabbed a small whistle in the shape of a horseshoe that Malon had given him a year before to call Epona with. He smiled as he held the object in his hands before putting it carefully into his pocket.

_After I finally find Ganondorf…I will come back to you Malon…_ he thought. The tip that Ganondorf was in Termina had turned out to be false. Instead he had found that he had left a long time ago and that Majora was terrorizing the countryside.

Link started for the party being held in the center of Clocktown and walked into the main plaza a few minutes later. Walking into the square, he saw that the locals had really outdone themselves. Lights were strung up all around the square while tables had been set up along the outside corners. Off to the east of the plaza near him, several tables were aligned with food of all kinds. People were everyone. Even the gorons and zoras had come out to help celebrate Link's victory over Majora.

He made his way through the crowds of people, shaking hands and smiling at those who had shown him such kindness during his stay in Termina. After making his way to the food table and loading up on food after nearing a hour of shaking hands and talking with folks, he sat down at one of the nearby tables and sighed heavily.

"Tire already?" a voice behind him rang out as he felt a hand placed on his shoulder.

"Oh, hey Romani," Link replied as he turned to see Romani standing behind him with a smile crossing her face. It was always a pleasure talking to her since she was so much like Malon, she even looked like Malon except for the difference of one year in age. Over the past five weeks she had helped him in defeating Majora and also by helping him deal with being away from Hyrule longer than he ever wanted to be.

She sat down next to Link and they talked about the festival for a while. Before long however, the subject of Hyrule was brought up.

So, are you going back to Hyrule any time soon after this?" Romani asked pleasantly. Link shrugged.

"I can't. Ganondorf is still out there somewhere and until I find him I can't go back. As soon as that happens though…yeah, I will head back."

"Do you think you might come back by to visit us in Termina?" she asked, a tiny bit of worry that Link noticed in her voice.

"Why would I not come back to visit?" he responded. "I have so many friends here."

"Don't you have somebody waiting for you back in Hyrule that wants you back though?" Link nodded, "Yes, I do have somebody dear to me waiting for me…"

Romani's face seemed to change just a little at Link's reply. Her smile seemed to drop just a little and her green eyes that were so filled with light seemed to dull for just a brief moment.

"Oh, what is her name?" Link smiled, "Malon."

This time, Link could tell a definite change in his friend.

"Anything wrong Romani?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. They had become fairly close over the past five weeks and they had both learned that they could trust each other.

"No, nothings wrong…" she replied as she sat up from the table. "I have to…go to get some more milk." She grabbed her glass that was still half full. "See you around Link."

Link watched her walk away towards the food court when she took a sudden turn to her left and started to walk briskly towards East Clocktown, dropping her glass off on a table before leaving.

_Something is wrong…_ Link thought as he started to get up from the table when he felt a tug on his tunic. He looked down and saw a small man dressed entirely in green smiling up at him.

"Oh, hello Tingle."

"GOOD EVENING Mr. Fairy!"

Link rolled his eyes. He had first met Tingle in the southern swamp and had asked him to keep a lookout for anybody who might resemble Ganondorf. Ever since then, Tingle had done nothing but report everything and everyone to Link.

"What is it now…" Link muttered, trying to find where Romani had gone off to in the crowd.

"I have great news for you!" Tingle exclaimed. "I have found a suspicious character roaming about Termina!" Link silently laughed. _Ohh, great. He must have seen the mailman…again…_

"Yesterday I was keeping a watch out like you told Tingle to and I saw a man in black armor galloping across Termina Field." Link instantly turned to face Tingle.

"When did you see him!" he almost shouted, trying to control his voice.

"Yesterday about noon. He walked up to me and I said I was on the lookout for evil men for Link and he smiled and told me that he knew you. Are you two friends?"

_Not in the slightest…_ "Yeah, we know each other." Tingle clapped his hands excitedly together. "Wonderful!" Tingle started to dance and throw confetti into the air, arousing the concerned look of several people close by.

"Could you tell me where he was going off to?" Link asked as he tried to stop Tingle from dancing around. Tingle stopped and nodded. "Yes, he said that he was heading directly West towards the Port town of Minato. He said you could find him there." Link turned and started towards the Stock Pot Inn, leaving Tingle behind him. "Thanks Tingle!" he yelled over his shoulder as he disappeared into the crowd.

Link raced towards the Inn and quickly ransacked his room of his equipment before he headed out to the stable for Epona. Starting across town towards the eastern exit since it was closest; he stopped as he heard someone crying near him. He turned to face the sound and saw Romani sobbing quietly into her hands, sitting on the stairway next to the inn.

Romani looked up slowly and saw Link looking at her. Her eyes were red and her cheeks stained with tears. _Oh no…_ Link thought as he finally realized where Romani was going with her questioning just minutes earlier. _She must have wanted me to stay here…with her…_

"So…are you leaving us already?" Romani asked as she lightly wiped at her eyes. Link looked down at the foot of the stairs. "Yes…I have to go to Minato."Silence filled the void between them as both sought for words to describe their feelings. Finally Link broke the silence.

"Romani, I couldn't stay here if I wanted to. I promised Malon that I would come back after two weeks. I have already broken that promise to her and I don't want to hurt her anymore…" he sighed softly and walked towards Romani and took one of her hands in his. "I'm sorry…" he muttered softly, "I'm sorry if I hurt you…" he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She turned to look up at him and he could see fresh tears form in her eyes.

"I know Link…I know…" She stood up slowly then reached forward, wrapping her arms around Link in a tight hug. He slowly put his own arms around her, patting her softly on the back. They stood there for almost a minute before Link gently pulled away from Romani.

"I have to go now, but, I'll always remember you." He backed away and slowly got up onto Epona. Link took one last look at Romani who had lines of tears down her cheeks. They had indeed grown close over the past five weeks and this was hurting Link to leave her like this.

Link started Epona forward and out of Clocktown, leaving Romani's view. She slowly dropped to her knees and hung her head. The tears began again and Romani did nothing to stop them. _I hope that Malon loves you as much as you do her…_

Little did either of them know that at that exact moment, Malon was heading out to find Link herself.

* * *

They had ridden through the night and day, traveling towards Termina at a breakneck pace, only stopping for lunch and slowing only to ford a rive. It was now started to turn into night and Malon could feel her eyelids starting to close. She looked groggily over at Zelda and saw that she too was nodding off. Malon wanted to sleep but she knew that if they kept up the pace they were at now, they would arrive in Termina by morning, a full day ahead of schedule. 

"Zelda, are you doing alright?" she asked tiredly. Zelda nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine…" Zelda responded as she started to yawn. The forest that they were riding through was dark and dreary even during the day, but as night started to fall, it started to turn even more menacing.

Malon heard a thud to her left and turned to watch as Zelda fell forward asleep, then start to fall to her side. Malon turned Shasta towards her and managed to catch Zelda before she completely fell off of her horse. Zelda woke up and mumbled something about not being tired as she got back onto her horse.

_That's it. Were stopping here. If we even tried to make it to Termina when we are both this tired it would be a miracle._

"Zel, were stopping here for the night. We can make it to Termina tomorrow. We need some sleep." Zelda nodded slowly and they moved off the path several yards until they ran across a large amount of bushes off of the trail. They curved around, almost forming a complete circle, leaving a place in the center large enough for both of their horses and themselves. Within minutes they were unpacked and were sound asleep.

Malon awoke with a start as she heard a loud crack near her and sprang off of her sleeping pad, throwing her blanket off of her. She looked over at where Zelda was and saw that her pad was empty and that she was missing. Another crack of a branch was heard and Malon thought she could hear voices outside the circle of bushes. She walked quickly over to Shasta and grabbed the sword that Himmels had given her and walked towards the outside of the bushes. She gripped the sword tightly, trying to remember all that Link had taught her.

He had taught her how to use a sword to please Impa, also because it was part of the deal he had made with the sheikah to get rid of the guards that were constantly around her. After several months of practice, Malon could beat all of the castle guards and even provided a challenge to Guntou on a good day.

She peered around the bushes and saw a man with a large pack standing outside, talking with someone she couldn't see. The man bowed then turned around facing opposite of Malon and started to walk away. As he disappeared, Malon heard a noise behind her and whirled around, the sword drawn in an offensive position at her side. She sighed in relief as she saw Zelda reappear into the clearing and started to calm herself.

"Hey Malon, sorry to startle you."

"No problem," Malon replied as she put her sword back into its sheath and place it back behind her saddle.

"I have really good news for you Mal," Zelda said as she started to roll up her sleeping pad.

"What is it?"

Zelda smiled, "I'll tell you as soon as we start leaving." Puzzled, Malon began rolling up her sleeping pad and blanket. Within minutes Malon had learned what the good news was. The man had told them that as of last night, the night they had left, that Link was still in Termina. They raced towards Termina as fast as they could and after about four hours of hard riding, arrived just outside of Clocktown, the main city of Termina.

They walked their horses through the gates of the city and saw that people were moving busily through the streets. They dismounted and started to walk towards the center of the town and begun asking people if they knew where Link was, however, most people had the same answer.

"Nope, haven't seen him since the party."

"Can't say I've seen him lately."

Several hours later as night once again began to fall; Zelda and Malon had come no closer to finding out where Link was than when they had started. They eventually found a local inn and had rented a second story room. Malon sat down on the bed near the window and sighed deeply as Zelda plopped down on the bed next to her.

"Well, at least we know that nobody has seen him since the night we left, two nights ago…" Zelda said tiredly. Malon nodded and stared out the window into the night, gazing at the full moon. She turned her attention towards the plaza and saw a single figure walking slowly in the moonlight. As she focused her gaze, what she saw astonished her.

"Zelda," Malon said as she waved her hand at Zelda, motioning her to come to the window. Zelda groaned and lifted herself off of the bed and walked towards the window. When she saw what Malon saw, she too was astounded. Zelda turned to face Malon who was looking at her.

"Malon…its you…"

Malon grabbed her dark green cloak that Link had given her while Zelda grabbed her light red cloak and raced down the stairs and out of the inn, into the street and searched for where the young women had gone. They heard a door close off to their left and raced towards it. The sign above the door said "Milk Bar". They pushed open the door and walked inside, trying to find where the person who looked exactly like Malon had gone.

They walked down the stairs and towards the bar where a young man was working. He turned around and smiled.

"Hello there, my name in Mahgni, what can I get for you today?"

"Nothing right now thank you," replied Zelda. The young man turned back to cleaning the glass he was holding.

Zelda felt a nudge in her side and turned to Malon who was pointing off to her right. At the end of the bar was a young women with red hair, staring blankly ahead of her. Zelda turned back towards the man working the bar and coughed loudly. He turned and walked back towards Zelda and leaned forward.

"Who is that lady down at the end of the bar?" The bartender turned and frowned.

"Ohh, that's Romani. She works over at the nearby ranch and usually helps bring the milk to town."

"Why is she so sad?" Malon asked.

"Well, no one knows for sure. She was all fine before the festival and then afterwards," he shrugged, "Nobody really knows what happened afterwards." Zelda tapped the counter absently as she contemplated everything.

"There is one thing that I do know that most people don't." Zelda looked at Maghni, "Well?" she asked. "Please tell me."

He leaned forward even further and spoke quietly. "Well, I was going back to the bar to get some more milk and I found her crying in the middle of the street. I tried to comfort her but she just kept saying that Link had left but didn't say where." Zelda turned to Malon but saw that she was gone. At the end of the counter, she saw her as she walked up to where Romani was sitting.

* * *

"Hey, is this seat taken?" 

Romani looked up from the table at the stranger talking to her.

"No, feel free to take it…" she mumbled, turning back to her glass of Chateau Romani. Malon sat down next to her and smiled.

"So…Romani, isn't it?" Romani nodded. "Well Romani, I saw you over her by yourself and I thought that you would like some company."

Romani laughed, "Not really. I don't really want to talk to anyone right now…" she started as she looked over at Malon. "You have my name…but I don't have yours. What is your name?"

"Malon," she replied outstretching her hand.

Romani visibly flinched. She stared at Malons hand for several moments before she reached hesitantly out and shook it before she turned back to her milk.

"I guess you want to know where Link is right?" Romani asked as she swirled the milk in her glass. Malon was caught off guard by the question.

"Yeah, I actually do. How did you know?"

"He left two nights ago going west towards the port town of Minato. If you hurry, you could catch him." Malon was shocked by the sudden turn of events. She now knew where Link was and how long ago he had left.

"Thank you…I don't know how to really thank you." Malon said to Romani as she clasped her shoulder. Romani dropped her shoulder out from under Malons touch and got up from the chair, reached into her pocket and dropped several rupees onto the table.

"He talked about you a lot Malon, Link did." Romani looked at Malon, her eyes filled with sadness. "Malon, could you please at least show me the face of the one Link loves so much?"

Malon froze. _He loves me? Even after not sending any letters to me? After being gone for five weeks, he still loves me?_ She felt tears starting to sting at the back of her eyes as she reached up and removed the hood covering her head. Roman didn't seem to notice anything as she stared down at a person who looked exactly like herself.

_No wonder why he was around me so much…I reminded him of her…_ Romani started walking away from the bar, bumping into Zelda as she walked, offering a soft excuse me. She reached the stairs, then turned back and yelled over to Malon who was still frozen in her seat.

"He misses you Malon…he really misses you. Find him for me and tell him…tell him that he chose the right one…"

Romani charged out of the bar, leaving the door open behind her as Zelda walked up to Malon's side.

"What happened Mal?" she asked as she turned from the open door to her friend.

"Mal?"

Malon was silently weeping, the tears sliding down her cheeks.

_He still cares for me…he hasn't forgotten me…_

* * *

**Cimar: Sorry that I couldn't write a better scene between Malon and Romani. If any of you can help me write a better scene, (Himmels, cough cough...) please send some pointers over. **

**Muppets: He needs help too! Doh, ho ho ho ho ho.**

**Cimar: I thought I got rid of you two?!**

**Muppets: You can't get rid of us! We're too annoying to get rid of! Do ho ho ho ho.**

**Cimar: ... thanks again to everyone for the reviews. I hope I can keep entertaining you with this story. Expect the next chapter next week. Also, next week might be the last chapter I will be able to post for a while...a long time... so tune in next week for more information!**


	10. Chapter 9: Demons and Heroes

**Cimar: Well, I already had this chapter written up so I found time to post it. This will be the final chapter for a while so I hope you enjoy it. It includes the last of my inserted character, Exdeamon! Please enjoy and then review!

* * *

Chapter 9: Demons and Heros**

"She did what?!"

The table she had been sitting at crashed to the floor as Impa stood up, her anger ignited and exploding to its full extent.

"Zelda wanted you to know that she was leaving with Malon to find Link. She told us to tell you after she left," Himmels said with a shrug. The young sheikah ducked as a chair flew straight above her where her head had just been. It crashed into the wall with such force that it splintered on impact, leaving nothing but bits and pieces lying on the ground.

"Easy Impa," Draculina said chuckling at her teachers rage. "Although it is always fun to see you angry," she leapt out of the way as several knives came flying towards her and embedded themselves into the castles stone walls. Draculina stared at the two knives that were now stuck several inches into the castles walls and smiled at her teacher, "You missed."

Impa threw up her hands in rage. "Do you know how big of a problem this is?!" she roared. "I don't care how well prepared those two are, they never should have left! Ganondorf has his army somewhere out there and they could not handle that themselves!" She slammed a nearby wall, causing fractures to appear in the granite as she stared blankly at the wall.

"At least we taught her a lot about warfare and you have to remember," Himmels said quickly, "her grandmother was a sheikah so she does have sheikan blood and magic running through her veins. She can handle herself."

"And we can't forget about Malon's lineage. Talon is her adopted father and you do remember who the real father and mother are for her."

Impa groaned as she walked over to the only surviving chair in the room and collapsed into it, massaging her forehead in worry.

"I don't care about any of that right now. All I know is that Zelda's father will not be happy with this." She stopped rubbing her head and dropped her hands into her lap. "How will I be able to explain to him that his daughter and Malon went off to search for Link while Ganondorf is running wild somewhere in the world…

Draculina and Himmels looked at each other and smiled mischievously. They nodded and Draculina mouthed to Himmels, _go ahead._ Himmels grin widened and she approached Impa.

"You could always tell him that this is exactly like when you went off to find Tamor after he left."

Impa's head jerked up as her eyes widened, "No…no, no no… we are not bringing that up!

"Why not?" Draculina said grinning. "This is the exact same circumstances of that event. You went out when you were Zelda's age, about 17 years ago now. You tried to find Tamor after he went to fight off Volvagia after it had started to attack the Gorons."

"Although…" Himmels said with a twinkle in her eyes, "when you found him you two did kind of…"

"Stop right there!" Impa roared as she leapt off the chair, her face flush with both anger and embarrassment, a sheikan knife held dangerously in her hand.

"Well, if you won't tell the king about this then we will just have to take your place." Draculina said with a shrug.

"We could even tell him why Kakariko Village is so close to Death Mountain. It was so that you could visit a certain red sheikah…" Himmels inserted.

Impa glared at her two students. _Why did I ever tell them about all this…why!_ After several moments she pocketed the knife and threw her hands in the air.

"Fine, I'll tell him, however," Impa said pointing at Himmels and Draculina. "Both of you as well as Guntou since he was in on this need to head off to Termina to find them."

"No problem," responded Himmels. "Finally an excuse to get out of the castle or beating on guards." The two sheikah bowed to their teacher and quickly exited the room, out to search for Guntou so they could start their journey. Impa watched them leave then sighed slowly, walking across the room and stared at the knives sticking out of the wall. She stared at the hilts of each and thought about who had given them to her. Each hilt was fire red, with tiny rubies built into it. At the end of each one, there was a small symbol of a flame with two knives crossing in front of it, the symbol of the red sheikah tribe.

She gripped each one and pulled them out of the wall and carefully sheathed them. Walking slowly to the window, she looked at the open field in front of Hyrule Castle and saw two figures, one white the other black as well as a man in a guard uniform talking together. The three then sprinted towards the stables where less than a minute later, they reappeared on horses and galloped away. Impa sighed and walked to the door, readying herself to speak to the king.

_Zelda is like a daughter to me. And Malon…_She remember sixteen years ago when she first laid eyes on the red headed child and held her in her arms. A small tear trickled down her face as she remembered what had happened to her father and what would happen if something was to happen to Malon, or Zelda. _They better come back soon with those two girl…. They need to come back…to make his sacrifice to not be in vain…

* * *

_

Link rode through the countryside at a brisk pace, enjoying the beauty around him. He had left Termina two days earlier at night and by his reckoning, he was already halfway to Minato.

The area he was in now was lightly wooded and hilly with large patches where the forest would simply disappear, replace by gentle rolling hills.

_Kind of looks like Hyrule field…_

He followed the path he was on as it winded its way around a large hill. Someone had cut the path through the hill, producing a small cliff right next to the path. As he rounded the bend, he felt a sudden chill in the air. He felt a feeling of foreboding that made him shiver and instinctively reach for his gilded sword. He slowed Epona to a stop and scanned the area around him, when he saw movement to his left. Link leapt off Epona, rolling as he hit the ground as a large throwing knife split the air right where he had been.

"Impressive," came a deep voice from the forest around him. "I didn't expect you to see that coming. You are more skilled than I thought…"

Link dropped to the ground as another knife flew at him from the forest and as it flew over him, pushed himself up and did a backflip as a knife embedded itself into the ground right in front of him. A third knife came whizzing towards him and he deflected it with his gilded sword, sending it back into the woods where it had come from.

Menacing laughter crackled across the wind as Link saw a shadowy form start to materialize out of the forest.

"Very good, no wonder why Ganondorf wanted me for this job. You are indeed a very skilled warrior." The figure stopped just before the tree line and Link could start to make out the persons form. The man stood about six and a half feet tall and wore all black. As he made out what the abilities and what he knew so far about this person, he noticed that the person's eyes were gleaming a dark red.

"_Looks like I have a demon on my hands…"_ Link muttered.

"Half-demon actually," replied the man as he now stepped out into the sun. "My name is Exdeamon and I believe that you are Link, correct?" Link nodded.

"So, why are you doing the bidding of Ganondorf and where is he right now?" Link asked, pointing his sword at Exdeamon. "I don't have time to play with henchmen at this moment so just tell me where he is and we won't have to fight."

"Not fight?" Exdeamon laughed as he unsheathed a large sword from his back. The sword was perfectly black with a little line of crimson running down the center from the hilt to the end of the blade. "But that is why I came to find you. I've heard of you before and know that you are good." Exdeamon crouched as he held the sword in front of him, his eyes blazing with energy, "Let's just see how good…"

* * *

Across the valley from Link was a large hill covered almost entirely with trees. At the top were the remains of what used to be a watchtower. However, now all that remained was the bottom level which was also heavily weathered and destroyed by those seeking to find easy building materials. 

A lone person stood in front of the tower and watched the two figures below him as they clashed and fought against one another. Several minutes passed by as the man was joined by a second, older man who wore a large turban and long, flowing robes.

"So, Ganondorf…" said the second man, "Do you believe that Exdeamon can beat him?"

"Aghanim…do you doubt my choice in servants?" Ganondorf replied coldly, not taking his eyes off of the battle below.

Aghanim chuckled, "Certainly not. I was just thinking that you would like to kill the brat yourself? If Exdeamon wins, he will kill Link against your orders."

Ganondorf folded his arms across his chest and chuckled. "I have made plans for that scenario Aghanim...now, be silent, and enjoy the show…"

* * *

Link's breaths came in rapid order and he felt as his body was slowing down. The battle had begun almost ten minutes before and neither combatant had gained the advantage. Exdeamon noticed Link's drained expression and charged towards him. Link raised his sword and blocked the high blow and countered with his own side slash aimed at Exdeamons chest. The half demon blocked the blow easily with his sword and tried to knee Link in the chest. Link back flipped away and blocked several following attacks, barely deflecting the last with his shield that would have taken his head off. 

"Are you tiring out already?" Exdeamon asked as he circled around Link, who was watching him carefully, searching for a weakness.

"No," Link replied roughly as he tried to form a new strategy in his mind._ Attacking him like this just isn't working._ He strained for ideas as he jumped out of the way of another one of Exdeamons attacks. _If there is only a way to stun him for a moment…_

Links eyes widened. _Stun him…deku nuts!_ He mentally slapped himself as he ducked a final blow from Exdeamon and ducked backwards, avoiding the strike by inches as he watched the sword slide right under his chin.

Link stopped twenty feet away from Exdeamon who was laughing at him. The hylian pulled several small objects from his pocket and grinned.

Exdeamon noticed the objects in Link's hand and laughed even harder. "Do you know that those won't work against me, you know that right?" Link smirked.

"Funny, that is what most people say, right before they experience them firsthand." Exdeamon continued to chuckle, then to Link's surprise, sheathed his sword and held his hands out to his sides. "Fine, if you want to believe it will work, try it…and feel the results."

Link didn't bother waiting for a better chance and threw the first deku nut against Exdeamon's chest. It exploded with a bright flash and a burst of smoke as Link lunged forward, throwing a second deku nut against his foe. Just seconds after the second nut exploded, Link jumped into the air, raising his sword above his head to attack with a helm splitter when an arm reached out of the smoke cloud, catching him by the throat as raucous laughter filled the air.

"I told you," Exdeamon said slowly as the smoke started to clear, "It wouldn't work." Link struggled frantically as the grip around his neck tightened. He didn't get much time though as his opponent raised him further into the air and threw him towards the cliff wall.

Link felt a jolt of pain sear through his body as he slammed face first, directly into the cliff. He hid with such force that as he fell to the ground, large cracks appeared in the cliff's wall and loud cracking sounds could be heard. Link struggled to his feet, wiping at his forehead where he felt blood trickling down his face.

A loud crack punctured the air and Link looked up at the cliff in horror as a large part of the cliff started to collapse. He dove forward, trying to avoid the collapsing wall when he felt pressure force him back to the ground and pain shoot up his legs. Turning back, he saw that the avalanche of rock had caught his legs and pinned them under almost a ton of rock.

"You just had to try that didn't you, and now look where it has gotten you…"

Exdeamon slowly approached Link who was trying desperately to free himself from the rock surrounding his legs. Exdeamon shook his head. "Almost a pity that I will have to kill you this quickly. I at least expected more of a fight from you at the least…" He unsheathed his sword, which gleamed in the sunlight as he held it aloft.

"Well, its been nice knowing you Link, however…I have better things to do with my time than waste it on pathetic heroes…"

As Exdeamon raised the sword above his head, Link whistled a fast tune and held his sword out in front of him at an angle, supporting the hilt of it against the ground. Exdeamon faltered for a second as he heard hoof beats behind him. He turned just as he felt the full weight of Epona slam directly into him, knocking him backwards and to the ground, where Link was waiting.

Link felt as Exdeamon fell directly onto his sword and released his grip on the blade, allowing it to fall to the side near him. He watched as Exdeamon fell sideways onto the ground then rolled onto his chest, trying to push himself off the ground with the sword in his back.

Link took only a minute to remove the rock around his legs and got shakily to his feet, his legs wobbling somewhat. _At least nothing is broken…_he thought as he walked over to where Exdeamon lay and pulled his sword out of him. Exdeamon shuddered just a little as Link wiped the sword clean before sheathing it and walking to Epona.

"Good job girl," he said patting her head before he mounted his stead. Link heard a sound behind him and turned as he got onto Epona.

_How in Hyrule?!_

Exdeamon was now standing, holding a hand to his chest, covering the hole where Link's sword had gone through him. As Exdeamon pulled his hand away, the hole was gone, the only thing that stated its existence being a hole in his armor.

"How did you…" Link stuttered as Exdeamon chuckled.

"You really haven't faced any half-demons before, have you?" Link shook his head slowly keeping his eyes focused on the man in front of him.

"You can't kill us, not with any normal weapon at least…" Exdeamon said laughing lightly. "I have to say though, it is a pain to get stabbed though, its not an experience that I enjoy very much."

Link's mouth dropped. "You mean that…I can't beat you?" Exdeamon nodded, "That is exactly true, however… you have bested me in combat with nobody so far has been able to do." Exdeamon walked over to his sword and picked it up, re-sheathing it almost immediately.

"Since you were able to at least think to have beaten me, let me give you a tip about a question you asked earlier…" Link shook back his surprise and started to refocus on what Exdeamon was saying.

"You wanted to know where Ganondorf is, right?" Link nodded. "Well, he is actually watching us right now from that hill just beyond this valley." Exdeamon said while pointing to the remains of a large tower surrounding by trees.

"Thanks, I guess," Link said as he started Epona forward. He felt a hand on his shoulder and stopped Epona, turning back to look at Exdeamon who was standing next to him.

"I am not finished. He is up there with his entire army, waiting for you. If you went right now, you wouldn't stand a chance."

_His whole army? _Link thought surprise at the new information. _Why can't he just be by himself?_

"What should I do then?" Link asked.

"I would head up the mountain path instead, head to Minato and take a ship to the city of Turalis. That way you avoid his army now and could gain support and an army from Turalis to face him. I know the Prince who rules there, and I am certain that he would lend you his army."

"Thank you again, Exdeamon." Link said as he reached out his hand and Exdeamon shook it.

"No problem," came the reply. "I may have been hired by Ganondorf to kill you, but he made one mistake…he paid in advance." Link started to grin as Exdeamon pulled out a large bag of rupees. Link started Epona towards the mountains, leaving Exdeamon behind. He stopped after several yards and turned around.

"Wait, how do you know so much about Turalis and their Prince?" Link yelled.

"I've met him before, under favorable circumstances…" came the reply. Link tried to yell out to him again but Exdeamon disappeared out into the trees. Link sighed heavily and glanced from the hill where Ganondorf stood to the mountains several miles away. He clicked for Epona to start and together they galloped towards the mountains.

* * *

"It appears that Link is smarter or luckier than we though," Aghanim said as he watched Link disappear into the forest trail towards the mountains. 

Ganondorf nodded as he watched Link riding away towards the mountains. "It appears we will have to rethink our strategy. Aghanim, I will be leaving for Minato. You stay back here and fix up a surprise for Link once he makes it to those mountains. I'll be arranging a surprise for him if he makes it out alive." With that, Ganondorf turned and began walking down the hill towards his horse, a jet black stallion.

Aghanim nodded and smiled. _Hoho, this is going to be fun._ Aghanim thought as he rolled up his sleeves and started to mutter incantations under his breath as clouds started to form over the mountains.

"Remember Aghanim," Ganondorf yelled up to his servent, "I would like to face him myself at one point. Try not to have too much fun." Ganondorf clicked his heels into his horse and galloped away down the hill towards his awaiting army of monsters.

_I will face him soon enough. _

_

* * *

_**Cimar: Well, I hope you have enjoyed the last chapter for a while. Read the next chapter to find out the rest of the story in a brief summary. That way, everyone can finish the story without having to wait for however long it takes me to be able to finish it. Please leave a review as well. It always livens up my week reading those. **


	11. Chapter 10: Seagulls and Shadows

**Cimar: **I has been a looong time since I have written this story so I might start out a bit slow on the start. Hopefully some of the people who had read this originally are still around to enjoy the end of it. Wouldn't be surprised if they weren't though…

**Muppets:** We're still here to pester you! Dohohohohoho!

**Cimar:** Great… Anyways, this if you are new to this story, read it from the beginning to find out exactly what is going on since this is a story over two years old. Also is a somewhat different style of writing than my newer stuff and has these nifty looking intros with special guest appearances from people so without further ado, the middle and end of Everything or Nothing.

**Muppets**: He should have stopped when he was at nothing! Dohohohoho

**Cimar:** …*snaps fingers* Sheik, gag them then get back here since you're needed for the next chapter…

**Sheik**: Finally, something to do… *chases Muppets*

* * *

The ride across the bay to the West of Termina was almost eerily silent. When the locals had heard the plight that the two women faced and the urgency of finding Link, a local sailor offered to bring them across the bay free of charge instead of the long ride south and around the body of water. Naturally, they leapt at the opportunity, especially when they learned that the ship was the quickest on the northern oceans.

The boat creaked as the waves splashed against the hull, a list spray showering them in a salty mist. Malon watched the white tips of the waves flicker and dance as they passed each one. Shasta flicked her ears nervously, whining softly while scratching the bottom of the ship with her hooves.

"I know you don't like being near water Shasta, but can you stand it for a couple more minutes? Were almost at the other side now," Zelda spoke softly as she stroked the horses' head and pointed towards the light tinge of green on the horizon. The horses were corralled into a small enclosure in the middle of the ship to prevent them from getting too antsy. It was larger than anything that Zelda had ever ridden in by any means and made the boats on Lake Hylia look like a cucco compared to a stallion.

Zelda glanced down towards the opposite side of the ship and saw Malon leaning against the railing of the ship; her head hung low between her shoulders.

_I wonder what's wrong. She's been like that all day… _Zelda thought as she watched her friend through worried eyes.

*

_Why did she have to say what she did…why? What has happened to Link?_

Barely as they were leaving town, Malon had felt a tender hand placed on her shoulder. She had turned to see a red-eyed Romani staring back at her, her makeup smeared by both tears and the constant need to wipe them away. Before she could do anything, Romani revealed what Malon had feared the most about Link's departure.

"_He almost died here Malon. Someone is after him, someone powerful. Yesterday a man came to town and asked for him, unfortunately finding that blasted idiot Tingle who told him everything." Romani lowered her head as the tears reformed._

"_Please find him before that man does. In Link's condition…I don't know…"_

At that the young women had burst into tears as sobs and collapsed to her knees. Malon was instantly at her side, an arm around Romani's shoulder as she tried to comfort the poor girl. For a quick moment, Romani was able to regain her composure and stared at Malon.

"Th..thanks… Malon"

And that was all she muttered before she leapt up and burst into a run away from her.

_Who is that man that she mentioned is after Link…is that…_

"Hey Malon, what's going on?"

Malon jumped as she felt a hand placed on her shoulder, making Zelda jump back in surprise.

"A little jumpy today aren't we…" Zelda said giggling a little while her friend began to blush.

"I'm…sorry, I've just had a lot on my mind lately," Malon said as she turned her attention back to the ocean. "Romani, the girl I met yesterday…"

"The one who looks like you?" Zelda asked.

"Yes, her. She said some things about Link and how a man was following him. Link left three days ago now and the man left two days ago…only a day after Link had left."

"And naturally you are worried about Link…" Zelda replied.

Malon nodded as she watched a flock of seagulls float inches above the ocean, cawing and flying without a care in the world.

"I wouldn't worry about Link too much," Zelda said as she joined Malon at the railing and began watching the seagulls playing near the surf.

"I think that Link is very much like those seagulls out there," Zelda said, not speaking to Malon directly.

Malon turned, a bit surprised and confused at what Zelda meant.

"Well," Zelda started as she begun to laugh. "Just look at the birds. They roam wherever they please. They are free spirited wanderers and can handle most any challenges that they have thrown against them."

Malon nodded, "I guess you're right…"

"They are also like Link since they both eat a lot, sometimes have crude manners and can be loud and annoying."

Malon was unable to hold it in and burst into laughter. Zelda smiled as Malon wiped away at the tears in her eyes that came from laughing so hard.

"I told you that Link is a lot like those seagulls," Zelda said giggling.

"I guess you're right Zel," Malon responded as she stared at one of the seagulls. "I think that one even looks likes him," she said as she pointed towards one near the front of the flock. Zelda begun to laugh as she wrapped her arms around her friends shoulder.

"And just like that one," she said pointing to the front seagull, "Link has to face a lot of challenges by himself such as being the first to fly into the wind to make the flight easier for the others to follow."

Malon bit her lip. She knew Zelda was right. She always had this gift of being able to find nuggets of knowledge and wisdom in everything around her.

"Thanks Zelda," Malon said as she turned and grasped her friend in a large hug. Zelda patted her friends back.

"No problem."

*

From the top of the hill Link could spy the large plumes of smoke that blew into the sky just north of him and the clanging of metal being forged. The trees and shrubs on the hilltop made it a perfect hiding place to observe Ganondorf's army while keeping a safe distance away from the patrols, several times of which had nearly caught him.

_How many soldiers has Ganondorf found…_ Link wondered as he gazed in amazement at the vast horde of monsters and mend collected below. The camp was divided into three sections, each divided by which part of the army lived there. In the largest section was horde of monsters that Ganondorf had collected. Everything from Bokoblins to Moblins wandered about the camp, grunting and squealing that created a guttural cacophony of noise. A second, smaller part of the camp was given to the humans and mercenaries that had joined forces with the evil king. Everything in this part of the camp was orderly, with the tents aligned in neat rows which left large open areas for men who were practicing with weapons of all kinds; while the camp among the monsters looked as if a tornado had spun through it leaving tents scattered here and there with no visible signs of planning anywhere.

The last section was quite smaller than the rest but was dominated by a massive, decorated tent in its center.

_That must be his tent then…_ Link thought as he spied several Iron Knuckles standing watch every few feet around the tent, creating an daunting challenge for anyone who would even try to get near.

Link turned and crawled back below the crest of the hill towards the safety of the woods. As soon as he felt it was safe, he pushed himself off the ground and bolted silently into the forest towards a small patch of barren ground near the center. Epona whinnied softly as she saw her owner approach.

"Easy girl," Link whispered as he put a finger to his lips. "We don't want any of the patrols to find us now do we?"

Epona shook her head, her mane dancing back and forth in the sparse sunlight that came through to the forest floor.

"Good, neither do I," he said, grabbing the saddle horn and lifting himself up into saddle.

_With that large of an army, Hyrule would have no chance against him at all._ Link thought as they walked through the forest at a leisurely pace to avoid making too much noise. They were lucky in the fact that the forest floor was covered in moss which really helped in reducing the sound Epona's hooves made as they hit the ground.

_We are definitely going to have to find some allies if Hyrule is going to survive this onslaught._

A snap of a branch caused Link to stop Epona in her tracks. He glanced around about him, searching for any sign of what had caused the noise. The forest seemed empty with nothing moving but a few leaves that swayed in the wind. Link urged Epona forward at a little quicker of a pace. His eyes scanned the forest around him, not seeing anything out of place.

_Was it a trick of the mind? _

The thought passed through his head and he disregarded it without a thought. The last time he had thought that he had nearly wound up dead. Epona stopped suddenly, prancing about nervously. Link took out his bow and withdrew an arrow from his quiver, placing it lightly into his bow and drawing back halfway, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Who's there…" he yelled into the woods. "Show yourself."

The wind whistled through the trees, swaying the branches and leaves with its gust, was the only answer he received.

Link twirled around in his saddle, drawing the bow back to full length when he saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. Behind him was nothing but the forest with only knee high bushes and shrubs that could hide anyone.

_Who or what is around here…_

His bow jerked to his front when a saw a shadow flirt behind one of the many trees. A bead of sweat trickled down his cheek as he let the bow go loose in his hands to avoid straining his arms. A bird sounded to his left, a soft cooing sound like from a dove.

_There aren't any doves in this region…_

Link's eyes widened.

_It's a trap._

The bushes in front of him rustled to life as a man leapt out of them, brandishing a huge long sword over his head. Epona reared back, nearing throwing her rider as Link tried to steady himself in the saddle, dropping the arrow he had nocked to the ground. As soon as Epona landed, Link urged her around and began to race through the forest at full speed, his bow in one hand and the reigns in the other.

Link ducked barely in time, avoiding a large branch that would have cleaved his head off. He looked back to see several shadows jumping and sprinting between the trees.

_Ah great…_

Seeing a path to his right, he pulled at the reigns, urging Epona towards it. She leapt over several small bushes that stood in her way, landing on the trail in a cloud of dust.

"Hyah!"

Link snapped the reigns as Epona dashed down the narrow path that twisted and careened through the trees towards the middle of the forest. He turned his head as the thud of hooves echoed through the trees behind him. Several horsemen appeared around a bend in the path, racing towards him. Spying a straight path in front of him, Link pulled an arrow from his quiver and aimed at the lead horsemen, felling him instantly the moment he fired. The man dropped from his saddle to the side of the path, tumbling to a stop as his companions raced past him.

Link reached for another arrow and began to aim, completely oblivious to the man sitting in a tree in front of him. The man leapt from his perch over the path right as Link passed by, slamming into the Hylian at full force.

Stars formed in his vision as Link dropped from the saddle at the impact, rolling across the ground until he slammed into a nearby tree. His back screamed in pain as he lay by the side of the road, fumbling to get up. As he reached for his sword, he felt a heavy object connect with the back of his head. His legs went limp and he fell to the earth, face planting in the dust of the trail.

_What just happened…_ he thought while moaning in pain. He heard the noise of horses coming to a stop and boots thudding against the packed earth.

"What do we do with him? Should we just kill him?"

"I say we just slit his throat right now," a voice echoed. Link cried out in pain as a man grabbed the back of his head, pulling him up while placing a dagger to his throat.

"No," another voice boomed. Link tried to look up at whoever had yelled, his vision still blurred by the blow to the back of his head.

"The master wants anyone we capture alive. Knock him out."

Link's vision finally began materializing as the coldness of the knife left his neck, leaving a small line of blood where it had grazed him. The last thing he felt was the hilt of that knife slamming into his skull, knocking him out in a single, well placed blow.

**

* * *

**

**Cimar: **Well, it is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to start writing this story again. The next few will be longer, trust me. :D Hopefully you liked it, if not…tough luck. C( = --- Just learned how to do this one so I had to try it out. The next chapter will come sometime in early December, so look forward to the next installment coming soon!!!


	12. Chapter 11: Wakeup's to Moblins?

**Ok, as it has been almost two years that this story has been sitting, growing somewhat stale, I will be going back and redoing some of the previous chapters. Adding detail here, changing the flow there, rewriting some of the plot that I feel is lacking in detail. Also, to anyone who has stuck with this story over the years, I sincerely thank you from the bottom (and top) of my heart. I will finish this by this summer, I promise. : )**

* * *

The sound of dripping water was the first thing he heard as he awoke. The second was the heavy pounding ringing within the depths of his skull.

_What…happened?_

Link groaned as he slowly rose onto his hands and knees, his head groggy from the pain that was shooting through him like an arrow. All he could make out was the steady dripping of water nearby, each drop drumming through his mind, warping his thinking at the noise.

_What a headache…_

He reached up towards the back of his head where the soreness seemed to be coming from, only to hiss in agony, jerking his hand away as searing pain shot through his mind, coursing its way through his body. His body recoiled into a stone wall behind him as he tried to escape from the physical anguish engulfing him, only to ricochet the pain further through his body. He clenched his teeth, trembling slightly from the heavy discomfort while cursing himself for his stupidity as the thoughts of how he had been captured raced through his mind.

The memories of it were almost as nauseous as the pain in his head. The first arrow aimed at him caused him to panic, the rapid chase through the dense forest which disoriented him, the man in the tree just waiting for him to come along...it all flowed as one image through his mind. It was too well thought out, he pondered, for it to have been a slight coincidence that they have randomly found him. He had used all of his tricks to keep hidden, all of the things Impa had taught him back at the castle and yet let them all fly out of his mind as quickly as he was trying to avoid a fight.

He looked at his hand, a dark liquid he knew well adhering to his skin while a small tendril of the substance began trickling down into his palm. Another tremor of pain inched its way down his neck as he thought on how he would bandage it. He felt something sliding down his neck, a small line of warmth creeping along. The wound must have reopened when he touched it he thought, regretting his curiosity as he pushed himself off the ground, wincing slightly at the effort. His right leg throbbed. Link moved his hands up and down his leg, feeling along the muscle and bone for any hints of a fracture or bruise and wondering how this other injury had happened. Midway up his calf he felt it; a large bump beginning to form that was painful to the touch.

For some reason, he began to laugh. A soft chuckle at first that eventually broke out into a feverish pitch as it bounced off the cold walls of his dungeon. He didn't know why, but for some reason he found the situation he was in, funny.

He was alone in an unknown country, lost without a guide, captured by an unknown group that was skilled in tracking, bloodied and battered physical and finally emotionally drained from two straight days of no sleep.

_At least it couldn't get worse._

As his vision finally cleared, he began taking in his surroundings with more clarity. He tapped on the thick steel bars that crisscrossed the entrance to his small crevice, noting their strength, even though they were covered in a thick blanket of rust and moldy grime. He located the sound of water that had so tormented him as well. A small stream of water trickled out of a hole in the wall just outside of his cell, forming a small puddle just inside of the bars before weaving its way back down the path and out of sight.

He sat down near the puddle, careful not to place his head against the wall to avoid a repeat of pain. He touched the rocks near the tiny hole, noting how the water had worked its way through the granite walls of the cave. He remembered spying some mountains to the west of Ganondorf's camp, concluding that he must be somewhere near there.

_At least I haven't been captured by Ganondorf…_ Link confided to himself as he pulled a polishing cloth out of his breast pocket, eyeing the piece of fabric intently as he placed it under the steady trickle of water. The dripping noise disappeared as the water pattered onto the soft cloth, absorbing the sound. The soft patter of the water as it dripped onto the cloth sounded much better than the harsh pounding it had been making as it dripped onto the rocky floor.

Feeling the cold water as it began to seep against his warm hands, he quickly wrung out most of the excess while grabbing a small vile of liquid hiding within another pocket. He spilt several drops of the potion onto the cloth, rubbing the cloth together to make sure the liquid had dissolved entirely into the cloth. Taking a deep breath, he began wrapping the cloth around his wound, cringing slightly as pain shot through his head, though more dull than before. He let out a gasp of breath as he finished tying the knot on the front of his head.

Almost instantly he could feel a cool, soothing feeling as the healing potion began its work. The pain in his head began receding while bringing in a rush of blissful comfort, a sweet, almost intoxicating feeling of pleasure as the potion took immediate effect.

"That feels so much better," he breathed softly as his stiff frame began to relax from the pain. Even his leg began to unwind and heal from the potions effects. He leaned against the rough carved stone of the cavern, the steady drip of water now acting as a life bringing agent instead of a detestable noise that would drive him insane. He let his head lean against the cold surface of the stone, his hair providing some amount of comfort.

It was only then that he noticed something was missing. He hands went to his head, patting down his hair as his eyes went wide in astonishment. Bolting from the ground, he scanned his small prison cell, rage mixing with surprise.

_They took my hat!_

_*_

"So how are we going to find both of our wandering groups of amateur adventurers?"

Himmels laughed while her sister glared daggers at her, annoyed that the laughing sheikah was ignoring her, again.

"I don't think that they are amateur at all," she exclaimed while adding a youthful bounce to her step as she leapt over the rotting husk of a downed tree. "Link knows what he is doing and you shouldn't worry about Zelda and Malon."

"And why is that?" Draculina asked coolly as she picked up the pace of her sprint to try and get back to her sisters side. Out of the two she was the better fighter, but Himmels could beat even a trained horse in a footrace, even if the horse was wearing the bunny hood as they had found out several years back.

"You know who both of them are related to," Himmels said while beaming a bright smile. "They can take care of themselves."

Draculina's lip curled as her sister's comment cemented itself into her mind. _But do they know that?_

Her lip curled as Draculina stared at the road ahead of them, its winding curves taking them on a zigzag course through the immense forest that separated the kingdoms of Hyrule and Termina. All around them the trees rose to immense heights, the immensity of their branches and height hiding the two below from the intense glare of the sun above. Most of the light never made it to the forest floor as it became caught in the thick foliage above. A heavy mist had entangled itself within the grasping branches of the trees while unnatural sounds echoed through the vapor. It usually created an eerie, disquieting feeling for anyone who entered, however, for the two sheikah that ran through the forest, neither paid it any heed.

"This is so much fun!" Himmels yelled as she somersaulted deftly over a fallen tree, picking up her quick gait as soon as her feet hit the ground. Draculina scowled as she took out a small, obsidian colored blade from her side while whispering in an ancient language. The blade began glowing a dark purple as she threw it towards the fallen trunk of the tree that her sister had just leapt over. Bark and wood exploded into large pieces, shooting in all directions as Draculina ran through the now large gap between two pieces of the tree, pulling her knife out of the wood as she passed without missing a step.

Himmels stopped and turned, her eyes void of her usual glee.

"Now why did you have to do that?" she pouted as her sister ran past her and into the shadows of the forest.

"You were too happy. I needed something to blow up or die to get rid of the nausea in my stomach."

The smile returned quickly to Himmels face as she sprinted off towards her sister, a soft laughter forcing itself from her lips.

"Great! I'm glad that you're happy then."

Draculina scowled. Even when she tried to tick off her sister, Himmels seemed to be unbreakable when it came to her joy.

Several hours passed by as the two sheikah made their way ever deeper into the forest, passing the center of the forest where the largest of the trees stood. Almost no light penetrated that part of the forest as for hundreds of feet skyward, the branches and leaves of the trees in the woods trapped all sunlight, keeping it as its prisoner for all time.

Draculina loved it. She sped through the darkness past the few shrubs and foliage that grew on the forests floor, while somewhat mesmerized by the chill of the perpetual fog that surrounded her. Ahead of her, she saw her sister sprinting along, sometimes jumping from tree trunk to tree trunk just for fun. For a brief moment, Himmels became lost in the fog, her white sheikan clothes blending perfectly with the unnatural surroundings.

It was then that she heard a giddy scream.

Draculina came to a dead stop, waiting for any sounds to follow the first. Loud bellows and grunts seemed to be coming her left where the fog lay the thickest around the trees. She leapt towards the sound, nearly colliding with a large bramble bush which she leapt over barely in time. She landed on the ground on her hands and knees, several knives brandished in her right hand when she saw them.

A ring of moblins had formed, no doubt surrounding her sister who she could hear laughing merrily while daring the moblins to draw closer to her. Draculina watched the monsters carefully, counting the number of the pig-like beasts while scanning the surroundings for an inevitable battle. The monsters were each about ten feet tall and looked like a mix between a pig, human and a bulldog, although their brains were literally the size of a deku nut. Himmels had always asked about how Draculina knew that, which she always answered by experience, which wasn't too far off from the truth. The dark sheikah whistled loudly, gaining the attention of several of the monstrous brutes nearest to her.

"Himmels! Are you alright in there?"

"Of course I am, how could you worry when all of these nice monsters are here to have fun with us."

Several of the large brutes turned to gape at the newest stranger to their forest. Draculina smiled as she saw several of the moblins start towards her.

"Himmels, plan D."

She caught a look of surprise coming from her sister through the mass of moblins.

"That would be way too cruel don't you think?" her sister stammered. "What about plan 23z?

"We don't really have time to argue about plans now," Draculina argued, sizing up the brutes coming at her."

"Fine," she heard Himmels yell from her circle of monsters, "Let's go with plan T."

Draculina grinned wickedly beneath her cowl at the mention of the plan.

"I think I can deal with that."

The monsters all roared together, before they charged at the two sheikah's, who were both surprisingly laughing as they joined the battle.

_*_

He slumped over to a corner of his cell, sighing heavily as he collapsed onto the stony floor.

_They take my weapons, they take my hat…why am I even in this mess in the first place?_

His eyes glanced across towards the only light source near him, a flickering torch near the end of the tunnel before it separated into the main path. Why was he here? The flame flickered and danced as all of the scenes from the last month rehearsed themselves through his weary mind. The journey north, saving the land of Termina, meeting new friends…what was it all for? He recalled the faces and names of all those who he had met. Kafei, Anju, Romani…

The last name sent a strange tingling sensation through his spine as his thoughts lingered on her memory. His nerves which felt somewhat frayed began to ease while his muscles, tense from nearly two days of constant movement began to sooth themselves. He wondered why just thinking about the young farm girl would have such an effect on him. Another image flashed across his mind, revealing another person with which he had grown up around.

No, it wasn't Romani that sent those feelings reverberating through his frame.

His thoughts trailed back to the night before he had left. He had left on _her_ birthday of all places. He shook his head, remorse sinking into his soul at what he had done. His best friend, the one who he could always go to when he needed help, and he had left her on a day that was supposed to be special for her. His mind dwelt remorsefully on that fact as he remembered the sadness in her eyes, the way the last words he had heard her say echoed hauntingly on the wind.

And it was all _her fault_.

If _she _hadn't of showed up, or at least waited…

"Then none of this would have ever happened," He mumbled dryly.

A deep swelling of disgust at himself and at his friend welled up inside of him, churning his feelings into a bubbling mass of discontent.

Sure the sheikah had helped him along his journeys before, but now? Now that he was in another existence, far away from needing any of Sheiks help, she still came.

"Why?"

He spoke the question aloud, letting it hum in his ears. Why was he still helping him out when the other timeline, his timeline, was safe and secure? Ganondorf was gone; he was sent back, albeit to another timeline, and since Sheik was in reality Zelda…why was she still helping him?

Confusion flooded his mind and for the first time on his journey, as he began questioning why he was doing what he was doing. Why did he feel the urge to stop Ganondorf in this timeline when the King of thieves was nothing more than a vagabond and an outcast? He had no home, the only army he had was in the camp Link had spied and that was far away from Hyrule. In short…

_He isn't even a threat._

He gagged as the words slid down his throat.

No, he was still, and always would be a threat.

Ganondorf had shown that just six years ago, the day after he had come back from his own timeline, sent back by the one he thought would want him to stay the most. For Hyrule, for her people, for her.

Link instinctively reached into one of his pockets where he usually went to calm himself. To his surprise, the round instrument was still in his pocket.

_They didn't take it?_

He sat in awe as he pulled the light blue instrument from his pocket and began playing the instrument softly. A familiar song came to his mind as he began to play, which started high and ended low as the notes repeated themselves. The song brought a feeling of peace to him, as well as an angry shout from someone down the hall.

"Shut up down there or we'll shut you up ourselves!"

Link dropped the instrument from his mouth and smiled. He brought the instrument back to his lips and began playing the song that his friend Saria loved when he was a child. Several more angry shouts echoed down the hall, but he didn't mind them at all. He simply played louder.

He had found how he would escape.

*

"Well ladies, here we are."

The two women looked at the ship captain.

"We can't thank you enough for your hospitality in this venture," Zelda said while bowing slightly, showing her thanks.

"Yes, you really don't know how much we appreciate this," Malon added as she unhitched the horses from the post they were tied to.

"No problem," he replied, "I'd do anything to help out friends of Link. He did a whole heaping lot o' good in our town and we had no way to truly repay him. Think of this as a mere trifle compared to what that lad did."

Zelda reached into her traveling bag on her hip, grabbing a few small gold coins.

"I know it isn't much, but, could we at least give you some compensation for your help?"

The captain waved his hands furiously in front of him, his face turning beat red.

"I can't do that, it would be a dishonor to accept you money after what your friend did. I wouldn't feel right about it at all."

"Alright then," Malon sighed as Zelda pocketed the money, "Just know that we are in your debt for your kindness."

"There is no debt for this action my ladies," the captain said while bowing. "Just you be sure to find the lad in one piece alright?"

"We will," Malon responded for the both of them as they began walking down the gangplank towards the land.

_We will._

The ship was slowing disappearing from view as the two women galloped across the wide open plain in front of them. Malon felt a feeling of joy envelope her as she let out a whoop of exhilaration. Zelda laughed as her friend released her hold of the reigns while raising her arms to catch the wind.

"Remind you a little of home?" Zelda laughed.

Malon glanced over at her friend, a large smile spreading from cheek to cheek. "Almost too much."

The pair continued the gait towards the West as another person watched them from a hill not too distant from them. His eyes tracked the tiny galloping specks as his hand gripped the handle of his sword tightly.

"They shouldn't be going that way," he growled as he began descending the hill. A slight wind passed by his frame as the juggernaut picked up his pace, now sprinting unbelievingly fast down the hill. "It will lead them directly to him."

The heavily armored man pushed himself even faster as each step he took was several yards in length. Within moments he could catch them before they came into view of the camp to the west. He only hoped he could catch them before he did.

*

The fire crackled and burned under the sky hidden beneath the boughs of the trees. The two figures sat around the fire, talking idly as the night drifted onwards.

"I would have thought they would have put up more of a fight than that," one of them grumbled angrily. "For being twice our size, they were pretty pathetic."

"Oh come on Draculina, they weren't that bad…I mean they were…." Himmels stumbled for a word that she could use.

"Pathetic?" Draculina added with a small sneer.

"No," Himmels laughed cheerfully. "I was thinking that they simply needed more practice."

The sheikah of the night glared at her sister, dropping the small piece of meat she had been holding onto the ground.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Of course not sis. If we were to let them practice for a bit they might have been a little bit better."

"I can't believe we are having this conversation," Draculina growled as the bit off the remaining piece of meat before throwing the cucco bone into the fire. She left the fire, turning her back on the warmth while heading towards the small blanket and wrapped clothes that she used as a pillow.

"I'm going to bed," Draculina murmured as she let out a loud yawn.

"Ok," Himmels responded, her tone airy and light. "Just make sure you don't sleep underneath one of them. It might hurt if one of them falls on you."

Both sheikah slowly looked up towards the canopy above them. Through the faint twinkle of firelight, almost a dozen shapes were moving and swaying in the light breeze that drifted through the forest. All of the moblins they had met earlier were hanging by their legs above the clearing. The pig-creatures moaned and whimpered through the damp rags that filled their mouths as the eyes of the sheikahs met theirs. The creature's eyes widened as several let out fearful whimpers, trying to sway their bodies enough so that their ropes would snap, letting them flee from the two warriors below.

Draculina glanced back towards her sister, smiling under her cowl.

"We really need to do plan T again some time."

Just at the sound of the word, several of the pig creatures began moaning loudly while several actually had tears form in their monstrous eyes.

"Quiet up there!" Himmels roared, surprising both the moblins and her sister into silence. Her sister looked at her, her eyes questioning her sister's outburst.

"What?" her sister responded, laughing lightly. "If you are to sleep you need it to be quiet."

Draculina slowly shook her head as she sauntered off toward her makeshift bed.

"Goodnight Sister," Himmels yelled over to her sister, as the sheikah patted her small patch of moss she had chosen as a bed.

"Goodnight Himmels," Draculina groaned as she closed her eyes. A small whimper entered into her ears, causing her eyebrows to furrow in anger.

"If you know what is good for you, you will be quiet! Do you want me to come up there?"

The moblins eyes widened in terror as one of its compatriots bumped him, trying to grunt his anger at upsetting the shiekah below.

"That goes for you too!"

The small meadow went deathly silent as the fire slowly began to die down. The sounds of the night slowly began as several wolves could be heard in the distance, howling their mournful cries towards a sightless moon. The fog that had disappeared in the afternoon slowly began creeping its way back into the meadow, causing the sheikah to shudder slightly from the cold.

A small smile crept across her lips as she slipped off into a blissful night's sleep.

_I love this forest._

**

* * *

**

This took me a little longer to write. I don't know why as it is so short but...anyways. The next chapter should be coming in about a month, and it will be longer as I have a lot of plot to put into it. So look forward to that whenever I get around to posting it. :D

Cya next time and don't forget to tell me if you liked this or not. I won't know unless you do. :D


	13. Chapter 12: Surprise? Part I

**Ok, first off this is really short. I'll apologize in advance for that. I just needed to get something written and published as I haven't done anything with it for about a month now. I will start updating more often, I promise. I was having problems with writing the scene with Malon and Zelda that was going to accompany this scene in this chapter so eventually I decided to publish this until I got out of the writers block. I'll be publishing the next part soon.**

* * *

"Would you shut up in there already?"

The captive smiled as his merry song continued. The Ocarina's notes flowed high and low in an intrinsic dance that made his spirits soar for the first time since he was captured. He had begun playing the song about fifteen minutes before, and was pleased when after only twenty seconds he had gotten a rebuff from the guards.

He was hoping they would break soon. His lips were starting to dry from playing the tiny instrument for so long. He licked them quickly during a short break between notes as he played, feeling the coarseness against his tongue. Everything around him was dancing to the music he played. The flames coming from the far away torched flickered with more energy than a fire should while he spotted a shadow created from one of the guards tapping his foot, before another shadowy arm slapped him upside the head. Only two voices had ever come from that direction, which meant that they felt he was safely locked away.

"That…is…it!" One of the shadows leapt from a sitting position while a figure appeared into the light of the dancing flames. The man was carrying a simple sword, fairly worn armor and a light buckler for a shield. The only thing menacing about him was his face, which was contorted in rage. His teeth ground against each other as he took several slow steps towards the cell.

"If you do not shut up with that blasted music, I will mess you up so much that you'll be lucky to even eat through a straw, let alone blow that little whistle of yours."

Link paused his playing, letting a sly smile creep across his face, only hoping that the guard could see it in the dim light.

"I've always wanted to drink through a straw…." Link mused airily.

Link swore he saw the guard's eye twitch. The other guard walked apprehensively towards his fellow soldier, touching him lightly on his shoulder.

"Come now, Roger, you know the captain's orders."

"I don't give a burnt deku stick about the captain's orders!" the first guard roared, whirling his anger onto his companion while sending spit and pieces of partially chewed food across his cohort's face. "If he doesn't shut up I will _make_ him stop."

At that moment Link took the opportunity to start up another song, this time, a livelier tune that had been taught to him by Zelda herself, much to the chagrin of the rest of the castle. After playing it almost constantly for two months, even Impa and Draculina had reached their breaking points and had ordered him, with several knives to his throat that he would never play the song again.

With neither Impa nor Draculina within a hundred miles of his location, it couldn't hurt to play it. He could never remember the words, but he did seem to recall them having to do with a man having a bunch of coconuts….

*

The two shadows passed across the moonlit field, the full moon above them casting its faint glow upon the grassy earth below. Now that they were free from the debilitating speed bump that was the forest, they blitzed through the fields of tall grass at speeds even Epona would envy. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon when one of the figures came to a dead stop, her shoes throwing up dirt and grass into the air. The other figure, noticing her companions faltering step turned around and arrived at her comrade's side.

"What is it Draculina?"

Draculina was clenching and unclenching her fist while her teeth grated against each other like two pieces of sandpaper.

"I am going to kill him…." she whispered murderously.

"Who would that be? The guy who tried hitting on you back near the edge of the forest?"

"No, but that was a good guess Himmels," she growled, an unearthly sound that she reserved for only the people who had ticked her off the most. Himmels suddenly caught wind of a very faint sound. Her mouth pursed into a small 'o' as recognition hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Link is playing the song isn't he," Himmels giggled.

"Yeah…." Draculina snarled, cracking her knuckles menacingly. "And he is so going to die this time for it."

*

Link was almost crying with how hard he was laughing on the inside, which was making his song sound worse and worse.

It also served to irritate the guard all the more as the more sensible soldier had gone from trying to talk his friend out of his anger to barely holding him back as he tried to get at Link.

"I'm going to kill him; I am so going to kill him."

"Calm down Roger, the captain will…."

"To hell with the captain!" Roger roared as he broke free from his compadre's tenuous grasp. "That prisoner is going to get it good now."

"That sounds great," Link added from across the room, smiling and waving towards the guards. "I wonder what I'm going to get."

"My sword down your throat," the guard roared as he marched towards the small, cage like cell as he flipped through a ring of keys on his belt.

"Sounds a bit dangerous," Link chirped, adding a little chuckle just for effect. "I don't think I want what you are going to give me now."

"Don't open that door Roger; it could all be a ruse, or a trap."

"Shove it Michael, you think everything is a trap, now shut your yap."

"I didn't know you could rhyme," Link gasped, covering his mouth with one of his hands in a surprised manner. "And I thought that being a guard was the only thing you were horrible at."

"That's it," Roger grumbled as he pushed the key into the lock, quickly pulling it open as he unsheathed his sword.

Link grinned up at his captive, as he slowly stood.

"Thank you for the sword Roger," Link laughed slyly.

"Wait, What?"

Before the befuddled guard could get out another word, Link's fist made contact with the guard's chin, creating a sickening crunch as several teeth flew out in all directions. The other guard behind him had enough time to open his mouth in shock as his companion collapsed right on top of him. As the larger man fell unconscious, enveloping the smaller man beneath him with his girth, Link leapt over the two guards, grabbing the larger man's sword as it flew through the air.

"Thanks again for the sword chap," Link smirked as he patted the man on his shoulder. He heard a muffled gurgling sound come from underneath the man. Frowning, Link pushed the larger man off to the side, revealing the smaller guard underneath who sucked in a huge gasp of breath.

"Thanks…couldn't breathe…under there."

"No problem," came the reply as Link took the butt of the sword and slammed it into the side of the man's head, knocking him out instantly. Link leaned over, checking the two guards for any other weapons or things that he could use. He heard a groan coming from the larger guard and sent the butt of the sword quickly into the man's skull. Another groan and the man was out. Link chuckled as he patted the man on the shoulder.

"Sorry about that as I do not envy the headache you will have when you awake, but, in the meantime rest well," Link spoke as he got up to leave. As an afterthought, he bent back down, laughing as he spoke, "and dream of large women."

With that, Link left the cell and the two soldiers behind as quickly as he could, not having a clue about which direction he should go, or even for that matter, where he even was.

_I should have planned this part a little bit better…._

**

* * *

**

So Link has escaped, Draculina is going to kill him and I threw in another movie quote from the Princess Bride. If anyone names who said it, I will give them a cookie…not really, but, I'll let you decide a scene you would like to see in the story if you would like.


	14. Chapter 13: Wildflowers and Surprises

**I have decided something about this story. From now on, I will be doing two things. First, each chapter I write will be shorter than I would like them to be on the grounds of I don't have the time to write longer chapters and I really want to finish this story. Second, no more author notes at the end of the chapter as I believe it takes away from the story. Ok, that's it, and now onto the next chapter.**

* * *

Another soft whump echoed down the lonely halls of the cavern as a man toppled to the ground, a silly grin plastered on his face as he connected with the ground. The man behind him sighed as he began searching the man's pockets, delving into each one on a rampant search for one thing.

"Fifteen guards and not one of them has a map to this place," he muttered softly, as he finally finished his search. He glanced around the room he was in at the moment, noticing how it looked like all the rest; cold, dreary and dark. He gave the empty cavern one last glance before he got off his knees and headed back up the tunnel from where he had come. It had been the fifth tunnel he had tried and just as the last four had ended with nothing, so had this one.

"Could this place be any more confusing?" he pondered as he made his way up the rocky path towards what he deemed as the main lobby of the cavern system. His boots make a soft plunking sound as he marched his way back up the meandering pathway as it sloped up towards the rest of the rooms he had so far explored. Slowing down as he neared a sharp turn in the cave, several voices, hushed and muffled could be heard from around the bend. Link snuck forward quietly, avoiding any loose rocks or pebbles under his feet that would give him away and thanking the dim light of the caves, as he poked his head around the corner. He groaned inwardly as he saw two guards talking to each other just on the other side of the room, holding a single torch and wearing more armor than any of the previous guards had.

He pulled his head back around the corner, leaning against the wall as he tried to figure out how to distract the guards. As he pondered the situation, he fingers twisted the heavy maple-wood torch he had been using as a club throughout the tunnels. He fingers wound around the knots and grooves in the heavy wood as he again poked his head around the edge of the tunnel.

"_Yep, still there…" _he grumbled softly as he again returned to his spot behind the bend in the rock. Creating a mental image of the room, Link went through all of the different situations he could try to get them to leave. He had done everything with the seven other guards he had met; from throwing his torch at the back of one man's head, to even trying to call out to one in a girl's voice to lure him done a different hallway.

_I hope Zelda never hears about that one…_his mind murmured as he watched the scene replay in his mind. His mind fumbled for a solution, something that could distract both guards while trying not to hurt them in any way. In the forest, when he was fighting for his life, he felt it reasonable to take a man's life, but not when he was simply sneaking around. It was the reason he hadn't taken any of the swords from any of the guards. Besides it being suspicious for a guard to be found sword less knocked out and splayed on the floor in awkward positions, not that it wasn't weird anyways, he didn't want the temptation of using a sword in the caverns. Link again peered around the corner as he heard the guards start conversing again, the dim light of the guard's torch flickering softly in the darkness.

"So why are we here again?"

"I don't know. Boss simply said to guard this tunnel, so we are guarding this tunnel."

The first guard cast a dubious look towards the other, more larger guard.

"Yeah, but, why does the boss want us to guard this tunnel?"

"Because he said so," the second responded with a gruff hacking sound as he spit a large wad of mucas to the floor of the cavern.

"That is disgusting," the other guard said as he stared at the large pile of goo on the floor. "You know we walk on that right?"

"Yeah , who cares. I don't."

"But, that could end up on your boots though."

"For pete's sake, Pete, I don't care about your overdeveloped queasiness about germs. Get over it, unless you want to go clean it up."

Link groaned as the two guards started arguing about if it is disgusting or not to spit anywhere you wanted to.

_This is going to be a long day…._he finally decided as he moved around the corner and out of sight, the guards bickering echoing in the backgroun. _It was definitely going to be a long day._

A warm breeze swept through the small valley they were riding through, whipping the tall grass on either side of them back and forth by the invisible breeze. In a way, it almost reminded the young woman of Hyrule field, with its gently sloping hills and grassy meadows as far as the eye could see…with the faint outline of the Kokiri forest at the very edge of the horizon. She stretched, letting out a huge yawn as her muscles strained at the sudden movement.

"As beautiful as this place here, I really hope that we can catch up with Link before too long. This saddle isn't the best seat to be sitting in 12 hours a day."

Zelda turned towards her friend with a smile on her face. "I never supposed that I would hear a statement like that from you, Malon."

"What," Malon laughed in response. "I just get tired of sitting in a saddle just as much as the next woman." Zelda stared back towards the plains before them as her friend began to laugh.

"It is just good to know that you are human too," Zelda giggled, as the two rode down the windy pathway under the beaming sun above. Just ahead of them was a large signpost, neatly sliced down the center causing both sides to bend outwards, an awkward sight as the two approached it.

"Well, we know Link wasn't here," Malon mused as she glanced at one side of the split post.

"Why's that?" Zelda asked curiously.

The red head turned towards her friend with a sly smile. "Because there would be a nice stretchy piece of bowstring in between those two posts creating a slingshot if he had been."

Zelda sat puzzled for a moment, then began to giggle loudly. "You are so right on that Malon," She replied, trying to stifle her giggling fit. "I can see him doing something like that." The two woman nudged their horses onward as the wind tugged against them, growing steadily stronger as another hour passed by.

"Hey Zelda."

The blonde woman gave a soft hmm, as she turned towards her friend, apparently lost in thought about something.

"Yes, what's up?"

"Do you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Zelda murmured, set a bit at unease by the tone of Malon's voice.

"The wind…it feels, almost like it is trying to force us to turn around."

Zelda turned her head back towards the path ahead, instantly feeling the wind pounding against her face, not that it suddenly had happened, it was just the first time she had really noticed it.

"Yeah…I think the wind has been acting a bit strange lately. I know it is usually windy over plains, but…never a constant wind like this one has been."

Malon nodded as Hyrule's princess turned to face her. "That's what I mean," Malon responded as she brought her horse to a stop. "This doesn't feel like a natural wind. It almost feels…eerie. Like something is causing it." Malon's eyes turned towards the a large field of wildflowers beginning to bloom to their right. Some of the smaller, lighter flowers were nearly horizontal, while the majority were almost parallel to the ground.

"Now that you mention that…I have been noticing a tiny bit of magic in the air for the past several hours," Zelda added. "It is very faint, but a strong, steady pulse. Almost like someone is trying to hide them using magic from anyone."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that someone is currently using a lot of magic to do something, but is trying to cover it as well, so it is creating a kind of magical pulse that travels through the air, just like wind does. In this case, I'm guessing this must be someone who possess a lot of magical prowess, although I'm not sure who it could be, if that is what is causing this strange wind."

Malon sat back in her saddle, chewing over the princesses words, all the while trying to focus on the air around them. She did notice that the wind did seem a bit weird…almost….

"Tingly?"

Zelda turned back towards her friend. "What was that?"

Malon popped her head up. "Does the magic feel a bit, like a tingling sensation?" For a moment Zelda looked perplexed.

"Yes…it does kind of feel like that, but only people who are attuned to magic, or have magical blood flowing in their veins can feel it. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, nothing," Malon laughed as she straigtened her hair that had fallen across her eyes. "I was just wondering."

In truth, Malon was feeling something different about the wind, something that made her a bit on edge about traveling across the wide open field. It felt like they were too open, too exposed…too…

"Visible?"

Both women halted as the voice rang out over the lonely hills and vales, its sound piercing and chilling their souls. Their eyes scanned the hills surrounding them, yet found nothing but swaying grass and small shrubs here and there.

"Who's there?" Zelda yelled out over the expanse of green.

"Zelda," Malon whispered, "the wind has stopped."

The monarch of Hyrule paused for a moment as she finally noticed it as well.

"Looks like it was a magical wind after all," Malon said as she continued glancing around for the mysterious voice. That is, until she felt a slight tapping on her shoulder. She turned around slowly as the air around her began to grow chilly and cold. As she turned, her eyes finally focused on a behemoth of a man in the darkest black armor she had ever seen in her life. Her eyes widened as it felt like all the remaining joy in her slid away from her, leaving her full of fear and anxiety.

"Hello."

"Finally, I found it."

Link wiped the trickle of sweat sliding down his forehead as he fiddled with the keys in his hands, trying to find the one that most matched the door in front of him. It had taken him several hours of searching and a really ingenious trick involving a stalagmite, chainmail and a candle to get theses keys from the last two guards but he had finally done it.

_This has almost been worse than the water temple, sheesh…_He heard a click as the key slipped into the lock, causing the door to slowly creak open. The key in the lock suddenly began to melt, causing a pool of liquid to form on the ground before even that evaporated.A smile spread on Link's face as he opened the door as quietly as he could. _Why do keys always do that?_ He wondered as he slowly closed the door behind him.

The room, he noticed, was immense by all measures of being in a huge cave system.

_This makes that cavern in the fire temple look tiny _he thought as he wandered around the edges of the room, glancing at the rows of pikes, swords, armor and bows that were lining the walls. He passed through a small ray of light and glanced up. Above him, the ceiling had several holes in it, allowing sunlight to pass through, lighting the room without the need of candles or lanterns.

_At least now I know about what time it is._

Link continued making his way down the lines of weapons, searching them for his particular sword and shield that were given to him by the King of Hyrule himself. After searching all of the racks of weapons, he finally came across a large chest, big enough to probably hide in if he really wanted to, not that it would be too comfortable of a fit.

"You have got to be kidding me," he laughed as he put his hands on the chest. "Not even a boss to get my stuff back." He pushed on the lid of the chest, opening it quickly as he smiled at the contents inside.

"Da da da da!"

Link spun around while grabbing his sword from the box at the odd sound coming from somewhere in the room.

"Looks like you have found the Hero's Weapons," came the voice from across the room.

"Who's there?"

The sound of footsteps drawing closer rang in Link's ears as he saw a figure appear from the edge of the shadows and into one of the beams of sunlight streaming from the ceiling. When Link finally saw the figure, his mind began reeling at the face of who he was looking at. The person laughed when he saw Link's confusion.

"Surprised? You should definitely know who I am, Link."

"But, how, I thought…what happened…" Link was stumbling over his words as the figure again laughed lightly, his voice echoing in the empty chamber.

"How are you here?" Link finally managed to blurt out as the figure strode towards him, the man's crystal blue eyes and dark tunic glittering as he walked through one of the sunbeams.

"What do you mean?" the man asked as he finally stood in front of Link, a slight smirk on his face.

"You died."


End file.
